The Legacy of Broken Steel
by Marcusss
Summary: Jaune Arc wanted to be a hero and when he found an ancient artefact, which somehow unlocked his aura and semblance, he knew he would become one. But those powers aren't the only thing that came with the legacy he accidentally inherited, for the dream to be a hero is a terrible one and it leads to pain and sacrifice. Maybe this time it will be different. Third time the charm, right?
1. Chapter 1 - The Key to the Armory

_**So yeah, hi, I'm writing a fanfic. Who would have guessed?  
Before we begin let's get few things out of the way first.  
This is going to be AU RWBY fanfic with some elements of the Nasuverse (FSN, Tsukihime, Kara no Kyoukai) serving as explanations for some worldbuilding details. But given the way I want to tell this story it will take some time until those explanations will be presented to you. On the basic level though, this will still be the world of Remnant you know from RWBY, at least at the beginning.**_

 ** _This is also going to be "a capable Jaune story". I don't want to make him too strong or anything, in fact in some ways I want to keep him weaker then most of his friends at Beacon, but he is going to be more capable and self-conscious than in the show, and he will have some tricks in his sleeves to make up for some of his weaknesses. Probably not socially though.  
There will also be some specific outside/inside influence on his character and world view so he may eventually differ a lot from his canon counterpart._**

 ** _Last thing I want to mention - the tamplate for Jaune's parents and sisters was taken from amazing RWBY fanfic writer Coeur Al'Aran. I recommend you give a try to his stories, especially to 'One Good Turn Deserves Another' and 'From Beyond'._**

 ** _Now we can get to the story. Hope you will like it._**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – The Key to the Armory**

"Look Jaune, I understand you are disappointed that you haven't been accepted to the Signal but it is already more then a week. Your constant sulking is making this trip miserable for everybody. Especially for Amber, you know how she was looking forward to this." Sapphire, the oldest daughter of the Arc family, was standing above the brooding thirteen year old, her hands crossed on her chest. He was sitting on a bench, silently throwing a ball against a wall in front of him and catching it when it came bouncing back.

He felt a little pang of guilt when she mentioned their youngest sister but what was they expecting to do? The life he dreamed of achieving was over – he couldn't go to Signal and his father was constantly refusing to train him. He wanted to be the Hunter, a hero like in the stories. Instead he was to be a what?

"It's not like I'm doing anything." he sighed not even looking at her.

"Exactly!" she exclaimed, "We have traveled here for hours and when we finally arrive you do the same thing as the entire week – sit around sulking like a child. You know mom persuaded dad to take us on this trip so you would feel better. C'mon, you always wanted to see this place. Least you can do is show some interest!"

Two days ago their parents surprised all eight of them with an idea to visit the Greengrown Ruins – the small remnants of some ancient town located few hours ride from their hometown of Ansel. It was said to have been one of the first known human settlements on the Remnant but, as it was with all the ruins spread across all the continents, nobody really knew anything for sure. Just another reminder of the forgotten past of the world they inherited. Full of questions without answers.

It was nice though, Jaune had to admit even through his bad mood, small walls and half standing stone buildings all overgrown with lush greenery the place was named after. The air here was lush and humid, no doubt thanks to the shadows cast by the rocky hills that cradled the place from all sides.

"Look, the guide is just finishing this part of tour and we should soon be taken to look at those basements the people here used to hide from Grimm." she nodded at the direction where rest of their family was standing with a young man that was leading them through ruins. He appearenlty finished explaining current theories about the non-descript foundations of the collapsed building behind him and was directing them to the small archway leading to next stop on their tour.

"So get your ass up and join us already."

"Okay, I'm coming." he sighed again as she turned on her heels and started walking to the rest of the group.

Jaune threw his ball at the wall for the last time, misjudging his aim completely causing it to fly through the stone shaped hole and vanish in the grass behind it.

 _Shit..._

He walked to the wall and used the same hole his ball disappeared in to help himself climb over it. It wasn't much higher then him so it wasn't hard. He could see his ball lying in the middle of something that could have once been a big room or a small hall, now covered in deep green moss and patches of grass. He jumped down onto it and started walking towards his ball.

The moss was thick and soft and his feet sinked a little in it with each step, as if walking in the deep green snow. So he could be forgiven for not noticing the ripping sound that came with his next step. It was followed by a sudden short lived feeling of weightlessness as the green carpet under him suddenly cracked into pieces and he plummeted down into the dark basement bellow.

He didn't even have the time to scream.

Over one small wall and about thirty steps away, on the remains of what have once been a busy alleyway, his oldest sister turned around to see if her difficult brother did as told.

"Jaune?"

* * *

Jaune had hit the ground with a silent thump. The floor was slightly wet and softer than he would have expected from almost four meter fall. He was lying on his back dumbly staring at the hole he had fell through confused as to what has just happened. He sat up and looked around.

The room was as big as the one that used to be above it. It had no windows but that was to be expected given it was underground. There was a doorway in the wall to the right of his position leading into the darkness. Along the walls were lying broken pieces of wood that may have once been parts of furniture before the moisture, time and woodworms took their toll.

Finally taking in the situation, a feeling of dread mixed with a ping of boyish excitement spreading through his belly, Jaune stood up and was about to start yelling for help. Surely others couldn't get far. Before he could do so a red glimmer took his atention. There in the heap of broken wood was lying some thing, glittering in the sunlight that was comming from his unintentional entry point.

The curiosity took over him for a moment as he walked to the source of red flashes. He had bent down and grabbed the thing with his hands. It was a pendant - made from a large triangle shaped red jewel with a ornate silver loop for a small chain. The stone was cracked but still eery beautiful.

Jaune smiled, this could earn him some serious lien. And if not he could give it to one of his sisters to quench her ire if need be. He had pulled the pendant over his neck and hid it under his shirt.

"Dad! Sapphire! Hey!" he shouted up the hole in the ceiling, "I need help! I have fallen down some-"

CLANK!, came from the darkness. He was not alone. The dread in his stomach suddenly got a lot heavier.

Jaune backed to the wall oposite the doorway the sound came from, hoping to hide in the shadows. He heard wet footsteps of more then one pair of legs and after a moment something walked from the darkness ito the light of the room he was in...  
Jaune's heart stopped... and then went to the overdrive.

 _It's a Grimm!_

The pitch black carapace and bonewhite armorlike growth at some places of its body were a dead givaway. He didn't know the exact name of this particular type of Grimm but the term "fuck-scorpion" that came to his mind seemed apt. It was only about half a meter tall but its long tail lifted above its armored back reached almost to Jaune's eye level. At the end of this tail there was a large glowing stinger that looked as dangerous as the sharp pincers on the creature's front limbs.

Grimm's ten red eyes seemed to be searching the room, though it didn't look like it had noticed Jaune. Yet.

 _Maybe it can't see well in the light? There probably was a complete darkness in here before I made that hole. It won't last though. Shit! What now?_

Jaune's heart was beating in his ears so loudly he feared the Grimm would hear it...

 _That is before it notices the red light shining from my chest for some reason... wait, what!?_

He looked down staring at the pendant he stashed under his shirt just a short while ago. It was shining like a red beacon, clearly visible through the fabric of his clothes.

 _Shit! Very smart, Jaune! You have put a volatile dust crystal on your neck or something! Now it will explode and make hole in your chest before the Grimm even gets his turn!_

Not knowing what to do he panicked, putting both his hands under the shirt cradling the pendant in his palms, trying at least to hide the light so the creature wouldn't notice it. As his shaking hands held it, the edge of the cracked jewel dug deep into his skin drawing blood.

BA-DUM!

The loud sound suddenly came from somewhere.

BA-DUM!

And then it felt as if his hands had exploded.

 _It really was a dust crystal?_ He thought as he shouted in fear and pain.

Then the world went white.

* * *

Jaune was standing on the wast dusty plain. The sky was the color of amber and fast moving copper clouds flowed through it like a stormy river. On the horizon he could see giant gears – large cracks spreading across them as they lie there half-covered in sand. Unmoving.

And all around him there were swords.

No, that was wrong.

All around him there were things that have once been swords. Broken blades standing with their hilts up to the sky like gravestones of gravestones. The everpresent wind scattering their rusted remains in the sky and sand, to be forever forgotten.

Suddenly, he heard a voices speak in the language he didn't know... but he could understand it perfectly.

 _I am the bone of my sword._

The wind got little stronger, carrying the echo of those words.

 _Steel is my body and fire is my blood._

The less stable swords in the field around him started to fall, shatering with renowed intensity.

 _I have created over thousand blades._

The clouds created a rotating spiral with center right above Jaune's position.

 _Unknown to death, nor known to life._

 _Unaware of loss, nor aware of gain!_ The wind howled defiantly.

All the blades began to shake.

 _Have withstood the pain to create many weapons._

 _Withstood the pain, waiting for the one's arrival._ The growing wind cried with intensity.

The blades started tearing themselves from the ground.

 _Yet those hands will never hold anything._

 _I have no regrets, this is the only path._ The wind reached its peak.

The blades grinded into dust.

 _So I pray-_

 _My whole life was-_

Silence.

* * *

Jaune was standing on the wast dusty plain. The sky was the color of amber and fast moving copper clouds flowed through it like a stormy river. On the horizon he could see giant gears – large cracks spreading across them as they lie there half-covered in sand. Unmoving.

All around him there was an empty desert.

No, that was wrong.

There were swords. Two beautiful blades, white and black, just in his reach. And one far outside of it, shining a magnificent gold on a solitary hill.

Suddenly, he heard a voices speak in the language he didn't know... but he could understand it perfectly. Two voices, young and old, talking as one.

 _So, you are to recieve the burden of my legacy? The dream to be a hero. The curse to be a hero._

 _Very well, you can have it._ _Save the world I have failed to protect._

The world shattered.

* * *

Jaune gasped.

 _What the fuck!?_

He looked at his hands. They were unhurt, cradling the end of the chain he wore around his neck, the ornate loop, that had previously held the red jewel, was empty.

 _What?_

He looked up just in time to see the yellow streak of "fuck-scorpion's" stinger slashing fast towards his torso. He dived to the right falling on to the ground and rolling away. The Grimm's tail struck the wall he was standing by just a moment ago shattering the solid stone like nothing but chalk.

 _Gulp!_

Jaune rose to his feet looking for a way out.

A quick look at the dark doorway.

 _Risky!_

A quick look at the hole in the ceiling.

 _Impossible!_

A quick glance at the "fuck-scorpion" attacking him again.

 _Too late!_

The stinger hit him square in the chest. Dull pain and sharp exhale. Jaune's body felt weird for a moment, as if the electricity was pouring through it – strongly at the start but getting weaker every second. He staggered back few steps and with growing horror...

 _I'm going to die!_

...he looked down at the gaping hole where his right lung used to be.

But there was no hole. His shirt was torn and there was a reddish bruise where the tail had struck but nothing more.

 _What!?_

As he thought that, the Grimm slashed once more. Jaune tried to dodge but again he lingered for too long. The stinger grazed across his left shoulder, but miraculously it failed to penetrate. He felt it again, the electricity – strong at first, though not as much as before, and getting weaker.

 _Did I gain a superpower? Some body shield or something?_

He would have thought it should fill him with joy. How many times had he dreamed of having superpowers like characters in X-Rey and Vav and other comicbooks he was so fond of reading? At the moment though all that was on his mind was survival.

 _I need a weapon!_ He thought while clenching his hands. _I can't hurt it just by punching it! Can I?_

He dodged the next attack and looked at fists. For some reason he was holding them slightly open, as if leaving a place for...

...swords.

He looked at the Grimm that was closing in on him again. And then, without knowing why or how, he heard himself saying the words in a language he didn't know... but he could understand it perfectly.

" _TRACE ON._ "

* * *

 _(to be continued)_


	2. Chapter 2 – Blades of the Old World

_**Here we go with the second chapter! In fact I already have several more chapters finished but I want them spell-checked and reviewed by Betas before the release. At the moment I have two friends I discuss the story mechanics with and I have made contact few Betas here on regarding the grammar and the proper sentence structure. In the meantime this chapter was proofread by my friend Arian who I think did a great job.**_

 _ **I hope to have third chapter out this Saturday and then I would like to release at least one chapter a week. We'll see how it goes.**_

 _ **For now, let's get on with the story!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Blades of the Old World**

 _Trace on._

The flash of blue – and a jerk that felt like lightning strike went through Jaune's hands as two curved blades, black and white, appeared. He dodged the stinger slash of the scorpion-like Grimm and stroke at its nimble appendage with the sword in his right hand. The blade cut through the unarmored section of the creature's tail as if it almost wasn't there, splitting it in half.

As the monster shrieked in pain and anger, Jaune made a few steps back to get himself a moment to breathe. He inspected weapons he was now inexplicably holding in his hands.

 _Kanshou and Bakuya. Married twins of light and darkness._

In his right hand the white blade held true, pointing at the maimed Grimm – ready to attack or defend. His left hand, clutching the hilt of the black blade, was pointed awkwardly at the ground as he wondered what to do with it.

 _Great! Now I have too many weapons! It's not like I know how to use two swords at the same time!_

Nor did his expertise in using a single sword go beyond "hit it with the sharp edge".

The scorpion charged him, its pincers angrily snapping at his legs. Without thinking Jaune jumped and landed on the creature's back almost losing his balance as it heaved under his weight. Reflexively he crouched dropping the sword in his left and grabbing the bone-like armor growing from the giant arachnid for support. The black blade fell on the ground and dissipated in the blue smoke.

 _Hit it with the sharp edge,_ _it is!_ He thought as he began to bang the white blade against the creature's armored body.

Grimm pranced about in the rage trying to throw Jaune off his back. The remaining half of his tail was madly slapping Jaune's body. The electric jittering Jaune felt after getting struck was getting weaker with each hit.

 _What am I doing!? This is useless!_ Jaune swore when he noticed his attacks having no effect against the hard armor. Then he swung the alabaster sword at the unprotected jet-black legs of the creature. With one strike two of its long left limbs snapped and the remaining two collapsed, no longer able to support the weight of the monster's body and Jaune crouching atop it. A sudden jerk as the heavy armored body hit the floor threw Jaune on the ground but he scuttled back not willing to lose the initiative he felt he had. He held the white sword in both hands now as he hacked and stabbed at all the black parts he could see on the scorpion-like Grimm.

He noticed someone was screaming and it took him a moment to realize it was himself. Tears were flowing down his cheeks washing off the dirt and dust. The body in front of him was not moving; in fact it may have been still for the last ten stabs, maybe more. He let go of the sword as it got stuck in the crevice between two pieces of the monster's armor, and sat down, eyes not leaving the dead Grimm even as it began to slowly disintegrate.

 _I did it. By the dust, I did it! I'm alive! And I killed a Grimm! That was..._

His train of thought stopped when he noticed another three of the creatures entering the room he was trapped in. And yet more glowing eyes were visible in the darkness behind them.

 _Oh, for the fucks sake!_

* * *

Jaune jumped back on his feet but that was pretty much all he was able to do before the stinger of the first scorpion clashed into his chest. It threw him against the wall with the loud crack. The weird electric feeling that had somehow stopped him from being impaled was now so weak Jaune was suddenly very much aware he couldn't take another such hit. Or any at all.

 _I have to move!_ he thought even as he fell on the floor by the wall he had collided with but all the strength and adrenaline he had felt when fighting the first Grimm just a short time ago was gone.

 _They will kill me. I have to-_

Suddenly the sunlight coming from the hole in the ceiling dimmed for a moment and with an earsplitting roar a figure entered the room the way he did. The ground shook as two heavy boots fell on the legs of the scorpion that had just attacked him smashing them in the process. The monster didn't even have time to react as the long sword the figure wielded in right hand slashed across its body effectively eviscerating it. A second later the figure effortlessly deflected the attack of the second Grimm with a shield in his left hand, continuing to slash and tear through the monsters as they poured from the doorway.

He recognized this sword and shield. He was told some of its history and accomplishments. He understood it was a valued heirloom of his family. But never before did he _know_ Crocea Mors the way he did now as he laid his eyes on it.

Jaune continued to watch the movement of his father's weapons until his vision blurred and the consciousness finally slipped away from him.

* * *

On the vast dusty plain under the amber sky and copper clouds a new weapon appeared, its gold and blue hilt pointing upwards. A heater shield that could actually collapse into its sheath was leaning against the grayish blade.

In the distance one small gear creaked. And slowly began to turn.

* * *

Jaune groaned, opened his eyes and forced himself to sit up. His whole body was aching and he could feel a dull pain from a few places in his chest. He looked around to see he was back in his room in their house in Ansel.

 _How long have I been out?_

In the chair next to his bed sat his sister Coral holding a book. She glanced at him as he blinked confusedly.  
"Mooooom! He's awake!" she shouted before moving her eyes back to the text she was reading.

He could hear the loud steps of people running and then his mother stormed into room followed by Sapphire and Amber. He didn't even have time to react as she hugged him, tears in her eyes. Then she released him and slapped him across his face.

 _Wha-_

Second slap stung his cheek. This time from Sapphire who hugged him next. Amber just slapped him twice. He was just about to protest but when he saw her eyes, red and bagged from crying, he just let her have her turn.

 _I guess I kind of scared them._

"Sorry," he exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding.

While he was attacked by the harsh family love the rest of his seven sisters entered his room.  
"How do you feel?" his mother asked sitting on the edge of his bed. "Does it hurt anywhere?"  
"Well, my cheeks sting," he started with a grin. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

 _Gulp._

"I feel a little pressure on the chest where that thing struck me, but other than that it's good," he hastened.  
"So it is true!" shouted Hazel, the youngest of his older sisters. "Dad only said you had been attacked by a Grimm. We heard you screaming. How come you are alive?"  
Her twenty-minutes-older twin sister Jade gazed at her dumbfounded by Hazel's blatant absence of tact. "What? Don't tell me you don't wanna know yourself."  
"I'm... not sure," he started. "It was the scorpion thing."  
"Death Stalker," Coral said from the chair, still reading her book.  
"Yeah, that. It slashed at me with its tail but for some reason it didn't hurt me much. It was like I had some energy protecting me," Jaune admitted.  
"Aura," Coral supplied again.  
"What's an aura?" Amber asked before he could.  
Coral closed her book and looked Jaune in the eyes.  
"Aura is the manifestation of one's soul. It is what makes Hunters stand above ordinary humans. It serves to protect them from harm, helps them heal et cetera. Or so I've read."

His mother held Jaune's hand in hers. "Jaune? While I'm infinitely grateful you had your aura to protect you when that Grimm attacked you, having it unlocked in first place is something you should have discussed with me and your father. When did you have it unlocked and who did it?"  
"I… I didn't..." Jaune stammered, not sure what his mom was accusing him of. "Until now I didn't even know what aura is, I swear. I fell down that hole and when the Grimm appeared I was really scared. I thought I was going to die and then some weird light started shining and..."

He stopped, unsure how to describe what happened. The alien landscape was still alive in his memory.

"Usually you need a Hunter to use their own aura to unlock someone else's. The book said they even recite some verses during the process," Coral continued her lecture. "But some people are able to unlock it by themselves – either after a long mental training or when they are in great danger."

Huge grin appeared on Jade's face.  
"So you are saying he scared himself some superpowers? That's our Jaune!" she laughed and his sisters chuckled at the idea…

Jaune didn't.

 _What was it about_ _verses? There was something like that, wasn't it?_

 _I am the bone of my sword..._

"Heh, I guess I did," he said. "Anyway, where's Dad?"  
"He stayed with other Hunters who arrived to Overgrown Ruins. He said they had to explore the whole site to make sure there are no other Grimm hiding anywhere. That hole you fell in apparently wasn't only one with monsters in it," Sable, Coral's twin, answered.  
"Speaking of that!" Sapphire stepped in with a scowl. "Why didn't you follow me as I told you? Why on Remnant did you stray from the path, you prat!? Even without the Grimm in there you could have been hurt!"

The ball retrieval suddenly sounded like a pretty stupid excuse.

* * *

Jaune stared at the ceiling of his room, his mind in the turmoil.

There were a thousand topics he could think about – What was the otherworldly wasteland he had seen? How was he able to pull... "trace..." weapons out of it? What was the red pendant and what happened to it? How come his aura has been unlocked? What now?

But the only thing that was on his mind right now was – Why am I not overjoyed?  
By all means he should be. He gained superpowers! The aura and whatever the "tracing" ability was. Jaune stretched his hand in front of him and...

 _Trace on._

...willed the white blade into existence, turning it around in his hands.

He was now so much closer to his dream. Granted, he still needed a lot of training to actually be able to use those swords effectively, but it was a start. By dust, he even killed a Grimm today, not many thirteen year olds could claim such a thing, he was sure! Now he could be a Hunter... a Hero.

 _A Hero._

The thing was, the feelings this word made him feel were not those he expected.  
Before when he was speaking about wanting to be a hero – and he did that quite often – it filled him with vigor, excitement and... something of a self-righteous superiority. He used to imagine a surprised look in his father's face when he would prove him wrong, the pride in his eyes as they would stand side by side in some epic battle against the Grimm.

It seemed so hollow now.  
 _Selfish._

 _Disgusting._

 _Naive._

What he wanted was no heroism. It wasn't even bravery. It was just a stupid desire to put himself on the pedestal. To be praised, to be celebrated, to be right... but not righteous.

What it meant to be a hero? What it meant to want to be a hero?

He knew he still wanted to be one. And somehow he was sure it was going to happen.  
So why did it fill him with sadness?

Why did he feel he somehow signed himself up for something he could potentially regret?

* * *

 _(to be continued)_


	3. Chapter 3 - Dreams of the Past

_**Here we go with the third chapter!**_ _ **It is short but given the content it felt right to make it so.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Dreams of the Past**

Jaune was dreaming of swords and battles.

Once again he was on the vast dusty plain, under the amber sky and copper clouds. Giant gears on the horizon were turning and the plain was full of swords.

Two figures were fighting a battle he couldn't even comprehend. Hundreds of swords were flying through the air as the figures attacked each other.

Red-haired boy was simply launching them out of the ground – Jaune "knew" the boy had complete control over this place – while the blonde he was facing was shooting his weapons out of golden pools of light that kept appearing behind him.

The boy was winning. Every attack and every salvo of weapons the other man threw at him was deflected by intercepting swords and even when it looked the boy would be overpowered by the sheer numbers he prevailed – shielded by a clover shaped purple light. Then the boy got through his opponent's guard severing the blonde's right arm as he tried to pull... _something_... out of another of those golden pools. The black blade in boy's hand moved in one swift motion and the gaping wound appeared on the golden-haired man's chest.

Then everything went white and the scenery changed.

There was a ruined wooden building under the sky at dawn. The red haired boy collapsed to his knees while the man was still standing defiantly. Even as he was missing a whole arm and a blood poured from his torso.

The man said something.  
 _Running out of mana is a pathetic end._

Another sword appeared from a pool behind him ready to be launched at the exhausted boy.

 _Victory is yours._ _Die with that satisfaction.  
_ The sword flashed through the air and pierced the boy's heart.

And the world shattered with the sound of breaking steel.

* * *

Jaune woke up drenched in cold sweat. The room was dark, the only light coming from the clock by his bed showing it was around 2AM.

Five days passed since the day he fought the Grimm and unlocked his aura. Four days since his father returned from Overgrown Ruins. Four days of struggling to find a right moment to talk with him. But everytime he tried to approach him his father was too busy – repairing some things in the house, having to go to the town council meeting, talking with one of his sisters...

It was frustrating. Was he avoiding him on purpose?

Jaune sighed and climbed out of his bed to go down to the kitchen and get a glass of water.

* * *

Nicholas Arc was sitting by the dining table staring at his wife.  
"What?" he asked dumbfoundedly.  
"I asked you, why are you acting like a coward, Nick?" Juniper repeated with a stern look on her face. "Why don't you speak to him already?"

He sighed averting his eyes.  
"Because we both know what he wants to ask me to," he said after a short pause, "and we agreed it is not something I can give him-"  
"Why?" she cut him off.

"What?" he said again with surprised look on his face. "We both agreed-"  
"No, Nick," she stopped him firmly, "we agreed we wouldn't encourage or force any of our children to become Hunters. And we didn't do any of that, at least not intentionally."  
"What do you mean?" he asked looking back into her eyes. There was a sadness there, but also a quiet resolve.

"Why do you think he wants to be a Hunter?" she inquired.  
"Because he is thirteen and because of all those comic books and TV shows he likes," he tried to make light of the issue. "It will pass in time, like that time he wanted to be a writer."  
"Nicholas Arc, would you please stop lying to me?!" his wife's eyes hardened. "And to yourself while you are at it."

Juniper's words stabbed him with guilt.

She walked to him and took his hand in hers.  
"Nick," she sighed. "Do you even know why did he want to be a writer back then? It was because he adored Coral and wanted to get closer to her. He thought if he wrote a book it would make her happy. And then when he wanted to become a musician? That was because Jade was taking singing classes at the time and he wanted to be more like her. With seven sisters around and us having to be there for all of them, is it really so surprising his attention was so fickle in the past?"

He tried to speak back but she didn't let him.

"Let me finish, dear," she continued, "because I think we miscalculated a little when it came to Jaune. We already had five daughters when he was born and Levander came soon after. It was hard work for both of us but we thought we figured it out... but now I don't think we did. I think among all those girls we kind of forgot we were raising a boy in that bunch. And while we could write textbooks about raising daughters, we really don't have much experience with raising sons, do we?"  
He chuckled and she smiled.

"We grew accustomed to girls sorting out some things among themselves and forgot that he is different. Girls never had to look far for role models, especially the younger ones. It is actually quite a wonder he didn't take you as one earlier."

Nicholas was silent for a moment, looking at her hand.  
"He doesn't know what he wants," he said silently trying his last line of defense even as he felt it beginning to crumble. "He doesn't understand what it truly means to be a Hunter."  
"You are right. He doesn't," Juniper agreed with him, "but how could he? You have never taught him anything about it. All he can see is that you are a good man. Loved, praised, strong and principled. For him, that is what it means to be a Hunter."

"So you are not against him becoming one?" he asked without looking at her.  
She placed her palm on his cheek and forced him to look her in the eyes.  
"Do I want him to become a Hunter? No, Nick, I do not," she said firmly. "I don't think any good parent wants their children to pursue dangerous and violent lifestyle."  
"Then-" he started but she placed the thumb of the hand she still held on his cheek over his mouth.  
"I don't want him to become a Hunter, but I think he wants to be one anyway. And now when his aura has unlocked he has more of an excuse not to give up on this path," she spoke the words he knew to be true but didn't want to admit. "If you won't train him he may as well eventually try and find a someone else to teach him... or do something really stupid to prove his worth. And as much as I do not want him to be a Hunter, if he is to be one I'd feel much better with him being trained rather then dead."

Nicholas closed his eyes and let out a deep tired sigh. He took the hand she was still holding on his cheek and kissed it.  
"We may be stressing over nothing after all," he spoke after a moment. "Maybe he doesn't want to be a Hunter anymore. Maybe what he went through scared him out of it."  
"I doubt that," she answered with a sad smile. "He is stubborn. It is something you two have in common."

"Yeah, I guess we do."

* * *

Jaune Arc was sitting on the stairs next to the door to the kitchen, his knees pressed to his chest. He was listening to his parents' conversation and felt conflicting emotions raving inside of him.

There was a joy and satisfaction – his father would now train him. He was actually going to become a Hunter!

But he could also read the atmosphere. His father would train him but only with great reservations. And all the time he refused him before it was not because he didn't believe in him as Jaune used to fear. He just never wanted Jaune to follow in his footsteps.

It was crushing. Did he do it because he wanted to protect him? To keep him out of danger? Well that was pretty stupid! What if he was attacked by a Grimm again? Would his father expect him to sit and wait until help arrived? And what if the one in danger was Levander or Amber? Would he still want him to wait for help or to take action?

Of course the old man would expect him to save them! But he wouldn't be able to do it if he was powerless. Jaune didn't want to be powerless. There were two things he vividly remembered from his fight with that Death Stalker – the feeling of dread he felt when the creature appeared and the feeling of empowerment when he found out he could do something to prevail. He didn't want to feel that dread again.

To be able to protect others he would need the power to protect himself first. That was no selfishness, that was just common sense!

 _Granted, before the encounter with that Grimm my motivations were far from selfless. But that is not the issue here._

Whatever his father's past reasons for not training Jaune were, they'd better be good! Because if the fault was not on Jaune's part – be it his weakness, a lack of talent, or even his fickle nature his parents mentioned – then his father's decisions were made with complete disregard for Jaune himself.

The kitchen door opened and his father stepped through. He looked at Jaune, mixture of surprise, anger and sadness in his face.  
"How much did you hear?" he asked.  
"Enough," Jaune answered quietly.

"Do you still want to be a Hunter?" His father's voice sounded strict.

Jaune looked him in the eyes to see the smallest spark of hope the man still held.  
"Yes," he snuffed it out.

* * *

Later, when lying back in his bed, Jaune made a decision. His father would start training him in the morning but Jaune had little doubt the man would take any opportunity to dissuade him from his chosen path. The old man wouldn't sabotage the training, but he could try to make it so hard as to force Jaune to give up, he could try to make him interested in something else, or he could be just very critical of his performance in order to frustrate him.

 _I just won't give in no matter how he tries. I will take what he throws at me, I won't complain, I won't let any critique bring me down. I won't give him an excuse to cut the training short._

* * *

It didn't work out that way of course.

* * *

 _(to be continued)_


	4. Chapter 4 - Breaking Ice

_**It took a whole week, some serious rewriting after good beta reviews and two days of a terrible migraine but the fourth chapter is here!**_

 _ **Originally I wanted this chapter to be a sort of training montage but I decided it would answer too much while leaving very little mystery regarding Jaune's capabilities. You will learn something about them in this chapter, but there is still lot to discover - both for you readers and for Jaune as a character.**_

 _ **I will try to have the next chapter released by next Saturday, as I still aim at least for one chapter a week.**_

 _ **For now, have fun!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – Breaking Ice**

Jaune Arc – the seventeen year old hunter in training, the part-time blacksmith apprentice, the brother to seven sisters, the only son to the wonderful mother and the thickheaded old fool of a father – was standing by the window on the observation deck of an airship feeling he was going to die. After all he went through past last three years and eight months he was going to die puking his insides out. After all the painful training, exhausting work, immense studying and preparations for the life of fighting Grimm... he would be killed by a stupid motion sickness. His sisters would cry, some of them from grief and some of them from laughter, his mother would probably alternate between the two and his father would make him a gravestone. On this gravestone he would write "Here lies the idiot who didn't listen to me when I said he wasn't ready."

He chuckled at the ridiculous image and instantly regretted this as it once again forced the contents of his stomach up to his throat. He put his hands on his mouth groaning in frustration. His vision began to swim and his hearing started changing volume ranging from high pitched squeaks to normal level conversation, though that could have been just the two girls that were excitedly chatting next to him.

Jaune had just about enough. Though not yet desperate as to kick out the window and jump down to what would at least be a quick and little less ludicrous death, he decided not to tempt fate and rather move to the exit door so he could get out from this Grimm-forsaken flying safety hazard. Seriously, the seats here didn't even have seatbelts and the entire deck was just a huge empty room. If the thing suddenly bricked, all passengers would end up a bloody paste.

He almost bumped into someone, an angel of golden radiance as his swirling vision told him, tried to apologize, almost threw up and wobbled in the direction he presumed the exit door was.

 _Great work, Arc. Your first day, not even at the Beacon yet, and the first impression you make on your future classmates and potential team mates? Less than stellar._

He could already hear the nicknames, though he hoped they would be at least mature about it. They were all already seventeen or older, maybe they would act like it? Right?

* * *

After the airship touched down and Jaune desecrated the conveniently placed trash can by vomiting into it, the young blonde sat down a small set of stairs leading to a long avenue ending at the place that was to be his new home. He looked with the silent astonishment at the castle-like amalgamation of buildings, towers, walkways and such that made the school proper. The giant clocktower at the center shined a dim yellow glow like a lighthouse it doubled for, giving the place its famous name Beacon Academy.

Jaune smiled.  
 _I really made it._

Then sighed and pulled out his Scroll. He pushed few buttons and placed the device to his ear.  
 _A promise is a promise._

"Hey, Mom, just calling you right after we arrived, like you asked me to."

...  
"Yeah, I'm okay. How are you holding up? Is he still angry?"

...  
"I know, but even you've agreed this time it was his fault."

...  
"No! I'm not going to call him! Not after what he said! After what he'd done he had no right to say things like that!"

...  
"I know I've said my share of things too and I will apologize when it comes to it. But he has to make the first step."

...  
"So is he! This time it simply won't be me who gives in! Sorry for what it's causing to you but I can't let him win this one."

...  
"I know the risks. For both of us. Look... just tell him I love him, regardless of how big of a thickheaded asshole he is."

...  
"No, I stand by that description."

...  
"I love you too, Mom. Say hi to others. I will send them messages when I have something to write."

...  
"Okay, it won't be just a generic group mail. I swear."

...  
"Yeah. Look, I should be going before I miss the opening speech or something."

...  
"Me too, bye."

Jaune pocketed his Scroll and looked at the school. There were still some people at the circle-shaped intersection down the way so maybe he could ask them for directions.  
He rose to his feet and approached them.

* * *

He could see the brewing catastrophe from a mile away.

As the white-clad young lady took the fire dust vial from an impact-protected case and started waving it around wildly spreading a cloud of the highly volatile and highly flammable substance around herself, all the safety protocols he had to learn and follow when working at the blacksmith shop came rushing in. He wasn't close enough to stop her when the small girl sitting on the ground in front of her sneezed, somehow causing the cloud of dust to ignite enveloping the young lady in a spectacular fireball.

But thankfully he was fast enough to catch the still mostly full vial that came flying from her hand before it could fall on the ground and potentially cause actual damage.

"Unbelievable!" she shouted stomping on the ground. "This is exactly the thing I was talking about!"  
"I'm really... really sorry," the second girl, smaller and dressed in black and red, apologized nervously.  
"Ah, you complete d-" the young lady in white started but Jaune intercepted her.

"There is nothing you should be sorry about," he said loudly as he came closer.

Both girls eyed him in confusion. The smaller one was a young looking maiden with silver eyes on a cute face that looked really unsure of what was just happening, short black hair that was going bright red at the ends and wearing a black and red corseted skirt with a long red cape and high black boots.

The other one's eyes were blue and there was an old scar going vertically over her left eye, from above her brow to the center of her cheek. It didn't make her face any less beautiful though and Jaune was reminded of a Vacuo concept his sister Levander once told him about – "wabi-sabi" perfection in imperfection. She had a long silver-white hair tied in a stylish side-tail and was dressed in a white skirt, a long sleeved jacket with brightly red high collar and white boots with high heels. To Jaune, she looked breathtaking... shame her attitude didn't go along with her apparent beauty.

"What!?" she asked incredulously. "Didn't you see what just happened!? Of course she should be sorry!"  
"Yes, I did," Jaune said resolutely as he dropped to one knee, opened the case she also dropped during the explosion and put the dust vial in its compartment. "I have seen you stupidly opening this case, made to protect the dust from the impact during transport – such as someone accidentally pushing it over," he glanced at the smaller girl to make his point. "And then I've seen you waving this badly insulated vial full of dust around like an idiot. Do you know nothing about safety procedures when manipulating with dust or did you want to just act all high and mighty in front of others?"  
"Wha-?" she stared at him in bewilderment, then her expression changed to that of anger. "How dare you? Do you even know who I am!?"  
"What has that to do with anything?" Jaune raised his eyebrow.  
"Everything!" she shouted sounding almost insulted and added, "I will let you know I am none other than Weiss Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company!"

 _What? Seriously? Shouldn't that mean..._

"Doesn't that mean you should know how to safely handle the dust?" he asked.  
"Of course I know how to handle the dust!" she answered angrily.  
"Then care to explain your serious breach of safety protocol a minute ago?" Jaune looked down at her after he checked the case was properly locked and stood up.

"I... I..." she stuttered suddenly loosing wind, then the anger returned to her eyes, "you have no right to lecture me, you tall blonde buffoon!" She stomped resolutely, turned on her heel and started walking in the direction of the school, even as two men in suits collected her luggage and followed her.

 _Well, someone here can't take criticism._

Jaune heard someone chuckle and another girl, a brunette with a bowtie in her hair dressed in some weird combination of black and white garments, walked by him reading a book. He turned to the small girl in red and found her looking at him with her big silver eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a smile.

She suddenly noticed she was staring at him and looked down as in embarrassment.

"Yes," she quipped. "Thank you."  
"No problem, I'm Jaune by the way." he extended a hand to her.  
"Ruby," she took it and then she raised her eyebrow as if she remembered something. "Hey, aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"

 _Great! Kill me now._

* * *

"Look, I'm pretty sure I did not throw up on the ship. I waited until that thing landed and then gracefully emptied my stomach into a trash can," Jaune exclaimed resolutely as they were walking by one of the big fountains in the garden area around the school building. "That is something else entirely!"  
"Well, it still makes you a vomit-boy," Ruby said jovially, "but as you just saved me from the wrath of Schnee I think I may drop that nickname. Not sure my sister will, though."  
"A vomit-boy?" he asked making a fake laugh. "What are you, fifteen?"  
"Actually yes," she looked him with a bright smile, "I am."  
That made him pause. The Beacon Academy usually accepted only trainees above sixteen.  
"So you are some hot stuff genius or something?" he asked.  
"I have normal knees!" she shouted defiantly.  
"What?" Jaune asked with a blank look as he had no idea what the girl meant.

She stared down at the tips of his boots, "I mean, I am nothing special."  
She looked like she seriously wanted to change the subject so Jaune didn't press her further.

After a moment of awkward silence Ruby stopped walking and reached behind her back saying "Anyway, I've got this!" and unfolded a giant red scythe.

 _By the Bust of Pallas, that thing is insane!_

 _Six different ultra light durable alloys... the heaviest component being the three-part barrel that doubled for the weapon and both counterweights... the percentages 81.4-18.6, 56.3-43.7, 5.2... blades laser cut and sharpened to the extreme... 145 parts out of which only 21 are unique... the rest is a combination of the most commonly used types of screws, nuts and o-rings... the red color actually doubles as an anti-rust coating... 26-bullet magazine... three modes it can transform to..._

 _This is the thing of beauty._

"I think I'm in love," he stared at the weapon.  
"Hey!" she yelled quickly folding the Crescent Rose back to its compact form. "She is my sweetheart! Don't even think of stealing her."

 _Sorry, already did._

"Don't worry. I couldn't use her anyway. And even if I could I wouldn't even know how," he said thinking. How could she use it anyway? Even though the weapon was big, it wasn't that heavy. It looked as if it should be using its mass to deliver hard blows but there was not much of mass to begin with...

 _If she can use this thing so effectively it got her accepted to Beacon two years earlier... nothing special my ass._

When he said he could not use the scythe he was lying only in part. Over the past several years he learned a lot of things about the ability he later discovered was called the Semblance – manifestation of his unique and personal power. With a little concentration he could "analyze" any weapon, as long as it had some sort of blade, and put it into his "armory". This way he could learn the whole process of the weapon creation and then replicate it making a "forgery" out of his aura.

The thing was, the creation process and the basic capabilities were the only things he really found out about the weapon he analyzed. And the more those weapons were complicated in design the more the forgeries he made were unstable – the weapon like Crescent Rose would probably shatter after only one hit. He found out about this issue when the forged shield of Crocea Mors kept collapsing on him during the sparing sessions. This led to him using the original Crocea Mors for a time, which included the necessary act of cleaning it and taking the shield-sheath apart for maintenance... which in turn caused him to notice that the more he "knew" about the original by hands-on experience, the more stable his forgery became.

The problem was that the mecha-shift weapons, of which Jaune now had five in his armory, were usually owned by other hunters. And those hunters wouldn't exactly borrow him their weapons so he could disassemble and study them. Fortunately Jaune didn't really need mecha-shift weapons – just their basic forms as his ability allowed him to just switch weapons on the fly. So he found a way around the issue by making simplified versions of those weapons by himself when he was working in the smithy. This way, in addition to Kanshou, Bakuya, Crocea Mors and the mysterious golden sword on the hill he still couldn't reach, his armory consisted of four other mecha-shift weapons, including Crescent Rose, several normal swords a few of the hunters from Ansel used, and a halberd, battleaxe and kusarigama of his own making.

Well, he didn't count the large number of defects he made while learning to work in the blacksmith's shop.

"Jaune?" Ruby waved her hand in front of his eyes.  
"Ah, sorry, I lost myself in thought," he apologized. "How often do you have to do a maintenance for that scythe sniper of yours?"  
"Oh, you could tell it was also a sniper rifle?" she beamed. "I do the partial maintenance once a week and a complete disassembly once a month. Twice when in heavy use."  
"Have you done a stress test?" Jaune asked, intrigued.  
"Of course!" she nodded happily. "She can take around three weeks of heavy use with no maintenance at all. And even then most of the parts are replaceable with what you can find in almost any machinery. So if she doesn't take any serious damage to the barrel-shaft or the blades it takes more than a month to make her unusable!"  
"Wow," he said with awe, "I've heard Signal students are expected to design their weapons by themselves. Did you?"  
"Well yeah," she went little red in the face, "but my Uncle uses a gun-scythe too. He really helped me to avoid the mistakes he'd done when making his."

 _Ever so modest. It makes her kind of adorable._

"So?" she asked suddenly.  
"So what?"  
"What do you have?" she asked looking at the hilts of the two blades he carried crossed on his back.

He unsheathed both weapons and shown them to her. He didn't strictly have to carry those around, as he could forge them far quicker than he could draw them, but having his swords visible tended to cause others to expect things from him. And those expectations could then be used against them.

"They are beautiful! Did you make them?" Ruby said excitedly. "What do they do?"  
"Actually I didn't." _Not in the way you think._ "They are something of hand-me-downs. And they are swords. They cut things."  
She pouted little. "That's all?"

 _What more do you want?_

"Well," he tried, "if I throw them just right they can come back like a boomerang?"  
"Oh!" Ruby perked up. "Crescent Rose can do that too!"

 _What!? How!?_

"So they do not shift into anything?" she asked looking a little disappointed.  
"No," he answered but then had an idea, "but there is actually a story about them. Do you want to hear it?"

"A story?" her eyes filled with a renewed interest.

This was an interesting thing about Kanshou and Bakuya. He felt those two were somewhat different from other weapons he analyzed after gaining his Semblance. He knew so much more about them – the background of their creation, their "history", the number of battles they were through. Battles which somehow made the swords stronger instead of dulling them with use. Was it because those blades were with him from the beginning – connected to the mysterious necklace that awakened his powers?

"Yeah," Jaune said thinking how to apply the story to the history of Remnant, as the names and places connected to the twin swords didn't make any sense to him, "you see – a long time ago when the kingdoms were still ruled by monarchs and not the councils, there was a king who desired a blade worth his stature. He called for the blacksmith and gave him the task to forge such a blade. The young blacksmith instantly knew such task was impossible to fulfill even for an old master as a sword with even the smallest of imperfection could be seen as an insult to the king. So with time he grew frustrated and depressed. And as his wife saw his ordeal she decided to sacrifice herself to help her beloved husband in fulfilling his heavy task. She threw herself into the furnace and her aura infused the metal there. In grief and sorrow the blacksmith forged these two swords: the male – Kanshou," he looked at the black blade, "and the female – Bakuya," he looked at the white blade. "Twins of darkness and light."

After a moment of silence he continued. "The blacksmith kept Kanshou to himself and presented only Bakuya to his king. The king was very pleased with his work but sadly when he found out about the second blade, he grew furious and had the blacksmith executed."

Jaune's eyes moved from the white blade back to Ruby... only to see her standing there with tears in her eyes.  
"It really doesn't make much sense," she sobbed, "but it is kind of sad."  
"Oh, come on," he tried to comfort her, "it's just a legend."

Then things happened very fast – he heard a sudden roar of anger from his left and he turned his head to check what made it.  
Only to see a demon of golden radiance with bright red eyes filled with rage as it closed on him, her fist connecting with his face sending him flying.

 _Wha-_

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SISTER!?" the demon roared.

 _Oh._ The thought cross his mind as he hit the pavement.

* * *

Jaune was sitting by the garden fountain holding a wet piece of cloth to his right cheek. His aura shielded most of the damage but the shock of the impact still created a big purple shiner under his eye. It would be gone in few hours but it made his face sting.

"I am real sorry," said the girl standing above him scratching her head and looking around uncomfortably. "I saw my baby sister crying and you holding swords and the mama-bear instincts kinda took over."

She was gorgeous. She had a confident stance, long wavy golden hair reaching almost to her legs, vivid lilac eyes and a face that was somehow both beautiful and cute without looking childish. There was an orange scarf around her neck and she sported a short-sleeved tan jacket with a big cleavage revealing her considerable... assets... covered by a yellow undershirt and also leaving her midriff exposed. She donned black shorts and a belt with skirt-like leather plating that went around her rear. There was also some asymmetric white cloth coming from under this skirt-belt, making it look quite fashionable. On her legs she wore high leather boots with orange stockings coming from out of them – the one on the right leg went above her knee and was fastened by a silver scarf above her boot, the one on the left was just pressed down to the neck of her boot.  
On her hands she had black fingerless gloves and some sort of golden bracelets.

"I guess I see your point," he admitted not wanting to get into an argument with a potential friend given she apparently was Ruby's sister, "and I had my aura, so no harm done."

She smiled. "So Rubes! Aren't ya going to introduce us?"  
"Oh yeah!" the little red maiden pattered around excitedly, "Yang, this is Jaune. Jaune, this is my sister Yang."  
"I would say it's a pleasure, but I'm not really into masochism," Jaune joked revealing his bruised cheek.  
"Heh, I get'ya. Wait..." Yang looked like she just noticed something, "aren't ya the vomit-bo-"  
"No," he said calmly.  
"You sure, because you look just like him-"  
"Yes, I am sure," Jaune continued, "did that guy have a bruise on his face?"  
"No," she looked little confused, "but that was bef-"  
"So it couldn't have been me, right?" he ignored her train of thought. Ruby chuckled.  
"Oh... right," Yang said finally understanding. Then a big grin appeared on her face, "I think that nickname is something I can omit, boy."

 _Ugh._

"Anyway, what are you doing here, sis?" Ruby rolled her eyes, "did you grow worried after you left me to the wolves?"  
"Actually, yeah." Yang answered, "the opening ceremony was about to start and I couldn't see you anywhere so I went to look for-"

"When was this?" Jaune interrupted her.

"Like five minutes ago?" she said thoughtfully.  
"So the opening ceremony..." Ruby said her eyes going wide.  
"...already started," Yang finished. "Let's move!"

As they were running towards the school Jaune felt it might not be such a bad day after all. Granted, the flight here was terrible, he got punched into the face just a few minutes ago and they were probably going to miss the opening ceremony, but he already made two friends. And the school didn't even start yet.

* * *

 _(to be continued)_


	5. Chapter 5 - Wrong Animal

_**Hello again, I was aiming to release this chapter on Saturday but maybe I should have not spent the first half of last week playing Uncharted and Overwatch. And I shouldn't expect my betas to have time when I want them to. :)**_

 _ **Well, let's talk CRDL. In the series they are nothing more than a group of cowardly bullies. I don't really like that so I'm going to give them little more space in my story - trying to explain their behaviour and world views. We'll see how that goes.**_

 _ **Also, I have done something that may be considered sacrilegious by RWBY fans. But I really want to explore where that goes.**_

 _ **Enjoy.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – Wrong Animal**

When the three teenagers arrived at the entry hall of the Beacon Academy there was nobody inside anymore. Well, except for the gray-haired middle aged man with small shaded glasses dressed in the black suit and green undershirt, holding a cup of some beverage. He was sitting at the edge of an elevated podium and Jaune noticed the entry hall apparently doubled as an auditorium as there were seats on the steps on its circular perimeter.

"Crap! We're late!" Yang exclaimed. Although she didn't mean to shout that the emptiness of the room amplified her words so it was no doubt heard by the man even though he was still quite a distance away from them.

"Indeed, miss Xiao Long," the man said, collected a cane that was standing next to him propped against the step of the podium and started walking slowly towards them. "I was afraid you decided not to attend when I did not see you in the crowd, Miss Rose. I am glad I was mistaken."

"Headmaster Ozpin!" Ruby was looking down in embarrassment. "We are sorry we are late, Jaune and I got distracted and then Yang came looking for me and there was this misunderstanding and then-"

"That is not a problem, Miss Rose," the man interrupted her with a light smile, "just make sure you are not late for your classes in the future."

"Yes, Sir," the trio answered quickly.

 _So this is the headmaster of the Beacon Academy._ Jaune thought to himself remembering the words his father said about the man. _A manipulative, self-righteous and insane old bastard who keeps playing his own games without regard for others._ Well, it weren't kind words. And given their source he decided to wait and reach his own opinion.

"Mister Arc," Ozpin turned to Jaune, "I am glad you reconsidered and decided to join us. I've heard much about you from Miss Garnet and when you didn't answer the invitation we'd sent you I was afraid you were not interested in studying at Beacon."

 _Oh, so it was master Garnet who let him know I was being trained? That explains Dad's attitude around her the past three months._

"There was sort of a disagreement in the family about me attending," Jaune answered with a shrug.

"Nothing serious I hope?" the headmaster asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, nothing too bad." he lied. _Nothing we won't eventually work out anyway._

 _I hope._

"I am glad to hear that," Ozpin smiled. "From what Miss Garnet said about you I believe you have not yet fully mastered any of the weapons you use?"

Ruby and Yang looked at him with a surprise in their eyes.

"No, I have not," he admitted feeling a little humiliated even though he knew he had no reason to. "I've been learning to use them for almost four years now so I am sure I can use them effectively – but not on a master level, no. I think I can circumvent that weakness thanks to my semblance, though."

"That is a judgment Miss Garnet shares," Ozpin nodded. "Normally the full mastery of one's weapon is a requirement for being accepted to this school but I have decided to make an exception for you. I'm interested in your performance but know that I expect you to master at least one of your weapons before you graduate. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Jaune nodded firmly. _No pressure._

"Now," the man paused to have a sip of his coffee, "other future students have moved to the locker room to put away their luggage so I advise you to join them. You can find out which lockers have been assigned to you using your Scrolls. Then you should go to the ball-room where you will spend the night. Tomorrow you will attend the final entry test during which you will be paired with your new partners and team mates. I suggest that you rest well tonight."

"Anything you can tell us about what to expect?" Yang asked bluntly.

"Well, that is something you will have to find out for yourself, Miss Xiao Long," the headmaster answered with a twinkle in his eyes.

* * *

"Aw, come on!" Ruby pouted as they were walking through a long corridor leading to the locker room. "You can show me!"

"No," Jaune repeated again.

"If you show me yours," she tried, "I will show you mine!"

 _That was a mental image I didn't need right now._

"Sis!" Yang shouted, a mixture of fake horror and amusement in her voice. "No showing your private parts to anyone! You're too young for kinkiness!"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Ruby went completely red in the face, "I just want to see his Semblance!"

"If we end up on the same team tomorrow," Jaune sighed, "then I will show you."

Ruby perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah I promise," he said looking down at the small girl, "but if we don't you will have to wait for the sparring class. We may even end up fighting each other and I am not going to reveal my secret weapon to you before I can show it off a little."

"Ah!" Ruby's eyes went wide, "that makes sense. I hope we'll be on the same team then."

"Heh," Yang quipped, "now you got even me interested. I hope we end up sparring with each other, Archie-boy." She winked at him.

 _If your punches are half as heavy as the one you gave me earlier I hope we don't._

In the locker room they were forced to part ways as their corresponding lockers weren't close to one another. They agreed to find each other later though.

Jaune found his locker after short search and proceeded to unfast his weapons from the simple leather straps he wore on his back. They would disappear in few minutes if they weren't in a direct contact with him, but he would make the show of putting them out and just forge them again in the morning.

"Nice swords, dude!" someone next to him exclaimed. Jaune turned to see another boy by the locker next to his. He was about Jaune's size, was dressed in sleeveless green jacket and black pants and he was sporting a light green mohawk.

"I use two weapons as well," the boy continued smiling as he took two daggers out of his locker...

 _Sturdy blades... steel alloy with added chromium, silicon, carbon, vanadium and molybdenum... well designed edge... a protected dust compartment between the blade and hilt... no exhaust though, so maybe used with specific Semblance?... the hilts are actually hard elastic carbon fiber ropes, allowing for more momentum when slashing..._

... and presented them to Jaune. "Can I look at yours?"

 _Nice, and highly usable even. Though compared to Crescent Rose kind of amateurish._

"Sure if I can check out yours in turn," he answered and they exchanged their weapons.

 _Why do most of the discussions about Semblances and swords have weird sexual undertones? Look at us, two boys comparing their elongated objects. This must be Ruby's fault somehow._

"Very nice," the boy said turning Kanchou and Bakuya in his hands, then he looked at Jaune. "The name is Russel Thrush, by the way."

"Jaune Arc," Jaune introduced himself and asked pointing at one of the boy's blades: "What do you use those dust cylinders for? I don't see any release mechanisms."

Russel beamed at him apparently happy his daggers interested Jaune.

 _Maybe that's part of the reason why they design their own weapons at Signal. So the kids would have better time socializing with other hunters? It definitely beats 'What music do you listen to?' or '"What movies do you like?' as weapons and fighting is something we all have in common._

"Oh, that's because I can turn the dust inside into an extension of the hilt – making it longer." Russel answered. "Different dust, different properties of the hilt," he smiled roguishly.

"That sounds interesting," Jaune said nodding, "must be hard to control though, no?"

"Nah..." the boy shrugged sheepishly. "OK, maybe a little. Took some time before I learned not to cut my own aura."

They returned their weapons to each other and placed them in their respective lockers. Jaune took off his white armor plates and black hoodie and placed them inside too staying only in his orange shirt and black cargo pants.

"So what happened to your face?" Russel asked when they closed their lockers and started walking in the direction of the room's exit.

Jaune touched his cheek – it didn't hurt anymore but still was a little sore when touched. He grinned at the other boy.

"I got punched by a pretty girl," Jaune answered chuckling at the look of surprise in Russel's face.

"Already?" he laughed with a hint of sympathy in his voice. "You work fast, dude. Is she worth the trouble?"

Jaune looked around to check if the girl in question, or her younger sister for that matter, was anywhere around.

"Well, she has all the Bees," he grinned, "Beautiful, Busty and Blonde."

Russel looked thoughtful for a moment and then he asked: "Wait, you are not talking about Xiao Long, are you?"

"Yeah, that's her." Jaune nodded, "you know her?"

"Dude," Russel said seriously, "you better give that one up. She is not worth it. I have seen so many guys at Signal get burned to cinders by her. Sometimes almost literally."

"Hm? You among them?" Jaune asked cocking his head.

"Nah, dude! I didn't even try," Russel admitted. "I mean she is out of our league, right?"

 _Wait, you already see me at the same level as you? Though if my experience with women outside of my family is any indication you are probably right._

"Yeah, I get what you mean." he sighed.

They left the room – Jaune didn't see Ruby and Yang anywhere so maybe they've already left – and checked the school map on their Scrolls to see where to find the ball-room.

"Speaking of the girls out of our league," Russel continued when they were walking again, "you won't believe whom I've seen among the students here."

"Hmm... Schnee heiress?" Jaune tried to smile.

"What? There is a Schnee here?" the other boy looked surprised. "I was talking about Pyrrha Nikos!"

"Who?" Jaune asked in confusion.

"Pyrrha Nikos! The four-year straight champion of Mistral Regional Tournament!" Russel looked excited about the issue. "They say she is the best that came out of Sanctum Academy since its founding, dude!"

 _There are strong people like that among first years? I hope I won't be seen as lagging too far behind._

"Never heard of her," he said. "Sounds special though."

"Well yeah!" exclaimed Russel throwing his arms around, "she's even on the Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes, dude!"

"Wait, that's her?" Jaune finally got a face to assign the name to. "She must be really good then! Don't they do it only for star athletes? And cartoon characters?"

"Yeah," Russel grinned, "as I said, out of our league."

"There is still a chance we end up on the team with some of those girls." Jaune speculated.

"That would be cool, dude. That would be-"

He was interrupted by a booming voice from behind. "Ah! Just the lads I was looking for!"

They turned to see a broad man with gray hair, thick eyebrows and giant moustache. He was dressed in a red uniform and was walking straight towards them.

"I need some help bringing mats for students in the ball room and you two look like you are up for the task. Follow me, don't be shy." The man put his palms on their shoulders and began to push both boys in the direction of one of the side corridors.

 _Doesn't seem we have much of a choice._

"Until we get to the storeroom, let me tell you about the time I was a young boy like you two. I was really popular among girls, if you know what I mean..." the man laughed.

 _Hope this won't take long._

* * *

After almost two hours of repeated trips from the storeroom to the ball room and back Jaune felt exhausted. The work itself was nothing hard but the constant interruptions by just another of professor's Port's, as the man had introduced himself to them, unbelievable and yet incredibly boring stories have them both struggling to keep awake. How could that man just keep talking for so long was beyond Jaune's understanding.

When the professor released them from his clutches finding another two poor souls he started forcing to distribute the mats across the floor of the room Russel just excused himself, then grabbed one mat and collapsed onto it.

Jaune looked around the room to see if he could find Ruby and Yang but they weren't present so he just decided to go and take a shower in the shower room by the dueling hall. After that he switched to his sleeping wear and returned to the ball room to find an empty mat.

He was walking around the already taken places and some girl reading a book by a candlelight when he heard a high-pitched excited voice calling his name.

"Jaune!" Ruby came rushing to him with a smile with Yang following closely behind her, both in very cute pair of pajamas, "Where have you been? We've been looking for you! You won't believe what happened!"

"Wait!" her older sister interjected before he could answer looking slightly disgusted for some reason. "What the Creep are you wearing, Archie-boy?"

"What?" Jaune looked down at his own one-piece pajamas – it had bunny feet. "You mean my awesome onesie?"

"I wouldn't call it awesome," Yang groaned, "please take it down so I can burn it."

"I will let you know," he started with a fake seriousness in his voice, "I've got this onesie from one of my sisters as a birthday gift. I cherish it very much."

"Uhm," the blonde girl put a palm on her face, "I think you've been had, Archie-boy. What have you done to her for her to give you this monstrosity?"

"Well, I might have called her boyfriend a stupid fu... wanker... few weeks before," Jaune admitted with a wolfy grin, "and he did break up with her shortly afterwards so I wear this pajamas as a badge of honor – ironically. She always cringes a little when I have it on." And he added sheepishly: "Well that and it is really pleasant to wear."

"OK," Yang gave him a small nod, "that's an acceptable reasoning. As a sibling myself I applaud your mischief."

"Anyway!" he started talking to get the attention away from his pajamas, "what won't I believe had happened, Ruby?"  
"Weiss Schnee happened!" the small girl answered enthusiastically.

"I know. I was there, remember?" Jaune said slowly.

"Not that!" she shook her head. "After we left the locker room she appeared again! And she apologized!"

 _That's surprising._

"She actually said sorry?" Jaune raised his eyebrow.

"Well, she didn't really say the words," Ruby said thoughtfully, "but she did say she might have acted out of line and you might have been partially correct."

 _Well that is something at least._

"And then she handed me this pamphlet explaining how Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any accidents regarding improper dust manipulation," she finished.

 _Or maybe not?_

"Excuse me," a voice came from the side. The girl sitting next to them raised her head from her book and looked at them. It was the girl Jaune had seen at the crossroad after the argument with Schnee – the one with the bowtie. "I am trying to read here, could you go and talk elsewhere?"

Ruby looked horrified. "Oh, we are sorry! We didn't mean to disturb you."

"That's... okay," the girl said sighing, "just please let me read."

They left the girl to her book and moved to the place where Yang and Ruby had spread their mats. They chatted for few minutes after that, Jaune told them about his meeting with Russel Thrush and the ordeal they went through together with professor Port before deciding it was about time to go to sleep. He found himself an empty spot and fell asleep feeling that all in all his first day at Beacon went pretty well.

* * *

 _And today didn't look so bad either_ , Jaune was thinking back to what led to the situation he was in at the moment.

In the morning he had been woken up by some over-excited girl who'd apparently decided that informing everyone in the ball room about the current day part in a rather loud voice would be a great way to start it. He hadn't mind though as he'd been little nervous and excited – intrigued what the final test headmaster Ozpin mentioned the day before would be about. Who would he end up on a team with? It would be cool to be with Ruby or Yang, or even Russel – he seemed nice enough.

 _I sure didn't expect this_ , he thought trying to contort his body so he would stop the uncontrolled spin he was going through.

After the breakfast he'd spend some time going over his equipment in the locker room – making sure everything he could have possibly needed had been stocked in his utility belt, checking and fastening his armor, forging new swords to wear on his back. He'd even came across Weiss Schnee again and to his surprise the girl had given him something of a respectful nod when she'd noticed him. She'd been in a conversation with the girl Russel had been talking about the day before – a red haired goddess clad in the bronze-hold armor – and he decided not to bother them as the white-clad lady had looked like trying to make a friend.

He'd met with Ruby and Yang after that and together they'd set out on the cliff the first year students have been expected to gather at.

 _I think I should have seen this coming. I mean the pedestals they had us stand on were pretty out of place._

When they had neared the cliff, they and all the other first years had been split into four groups of fifteen and each group had been led to a different location by the cliff edge. He had been happy to see he was in the same group as Ruby, Yang, Russel and even Weiss, the book-girl from yesterday and the cereal-girl.

A few minutes later the headmaster Ozpin and a beautiful strict looking blonde woman had joined them and instructed them to stand on weird pedestals placed by the cliff's edge. They'd spent few minutes explaining to them the nature of the final test – they were supposed to enter the Emerald Forest and find their partner which would be the first person they would make an eye contact with...

 _That was the moment I should have started to doubt the headmasters sanity._

... and then they would search for some kind of relics located in an abandoned temple, each pair would retrieve one such relic and safely bring it back to the top of the cliff while destroying anything that they would come across. Seemed straightforward enough.

And then the crazy man had used the pedestals they were standing on to catapult them straight from the cliff down to the forest more than a hundred meters below.

 _Okay, maybe the insane part in Dad's description of Ozpin fits perfectly,_ Jaune thought as he continued his flight through the air screaming in terror.

* * *

 _Calm down, Arc, you can do this! Even if you hit the ground you may survive... maybe..._

The tree canopy was closing fast.

 _Better think of a way how to safely land. Like right now!_

 _..._

 _Yeah, that could work!_

He forged the kusarigama grabbing the end of its long chain in his left hand using his right to spin the piolet on the other side. He released it just in time for it to hit a trunk of a large tree that was growing above the others and it lodged into it with a satisfying thump. Jaune used his right hand to get a hold of the chain right before it straightened and he was forcefully hurled to the side.

 _Woohoo!_

He made almost a full circle around the trunk when he noticed that he would slam into it full force if he continued this way. In panic he let go of the chain ending his rotation and once again falling to the trees below. Though admittedly the detour around the tree had shed some of his momentum.

As he was about to fall through the canopy of branches and twigs he forged the shield of Crocea Mors and held it in front of himself. It protected him from most of the heavy slashes he would otherwise get from the foliage and saved him a great deal of aura. But there was still the issue of rapidly closing hard ground.

In a swift movement Jaune reached into one of the pockets of his utility belt and took out a small green dust crystal. Then he forged Bakuya into the same hand he held the crystal in, waited half of a second and threw it right below himself. The white blade didn't look the same as the one on his back. It had a composition of a milk-tinted glass and when it hit the ground it didn't so much shatter, rather it disappeared with a loud pop like the one balloons make.

Jaune suddenly slowed down, apparently almost stopping in midair for a moment. Then, as if he tore through some invisible barrier, he dropped rest of the way face first into the forest floor but the force of his impact didn't seem much stronger than if he just fell out of a bed.

 _I'm alive! I did it!_ he thought, spitting out pieces of soil that stuck to his lips and standing up.

Then he noticed the giant bear-like Grimm plummeting to his position – sharp fangs and claws bared.

 _Well fuck._

* * *

Jaune was running through the forest and the large Ursa chased after him. It had already several black and white swords sticking out of his sides and back but neither of them seemed to be deep enough to cause the monster any serious damage. It made the creature pretty damn angry, though.

 _I need to use something heavier_ , Jaune thought as he dodged another of the Grimm's heavy paw slashes. _But it is too fast – it doesn't give me time to make an attack strong enough._

He cut across the monster's face creating a bleeding scar on his cheek. He was aiming for the eye but the Grimm jerked its head at the last moment.

 _Shit, I need to slow it down somehow._

Jaune jumped away before the Grimm-bear could crash onto him as it hurled itself right at the place he was standing. Taking a second to look around he noticed a thick tree couple of meters away. It looked sturdy enough.

He positioned himself so the tree was behind his back and Ursa in front of him and started clanging his weapons against each other.

 _Come on, you big ugly teddy, charge me!_

And the creature obliged. It roared and ran straight at him.

At the last possible moment Jaune dodged to the right and the Ursa slammed into the tree with such a force it actually trembled violently even though it had more than a meter in diameter. Any normal creature would smash its head witch such an impact but the Grimm looked only slightly dazed.

That was before a large heavy battleaxe Jaune had forged in place of his swords dug into the monster-bear's thick neck from behind almost severing its entire head.

 _Take that!_ Jaune was thinking but when he heard a snapping noises from the tree the Ursa just hit as something was coming down at him from its branches, he readied his axe again making a step back. _Was there another Grimm in that tree? That would be just my luck._

But it was not a Grimm that landed in front of him right into the soft fur of the dead monster-bear lying at the tree's foot.

It was a girl.

She looked at him in apparent confusion and their eyes met.

"Boop?"

* * *

 _(to be continued)_


	6. Chapter 6 - Group Pressure (&Interlude1)

_**Well, this took longer than I expected so I'm not going to keep you from the chapter.**_

 _ **Maybe let me just say - all of you who started following this fic or even put it into favourites are making me very happy and giving me motivation to continue with this writing 'experiment'. I'm grateful for all the reviews you send me - be it kind words or constructive criticism. :)**_

 _ **It is already a month since I started writing this story and if anything I'm only growing more passionate about all the places I'm planning to take it.**_

 _ **So read, review and most importantly - enjoy!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 6 - Group Pressure**

" _You are not Renny."_ Regarding the first words Jaune was expecting to hear from the girl – who apparently was to be his partner for the next four years of studying at Beacon: those were definitely not on the list. She had shaggy ginger hair shortly cut behind her neck and clear blue eyes that were slightly squinted at the moment as she seemed to be in deep thought. Her black vest was connected to some kind of metallic harness that was going over the shoulders and around the torso right under her chest and waist and was holstering some sort of small cannon behind her back. Below it she had a white undershirt with a cute heart-shaped hole in the area between its neckline and her rather large… assets. She wore a short pink skirt, fingerless gloves of the same color and white detached sleeves pulled over her elbows. Her short-heeled shoes also shared the pink and white coloring.

"I'm sorry?" he asked feeling confused and just a little bit insulted. "Were you expecting someone else?"

She rose from the already dissolving Ursa and started pacing around with a hand held under her chin. She didn't even acknowledge him.

"I didn't consider not being paired up with Renny," she started talking to herself with a voice going little louder with every word in each sentence, "I mean we have been together for so long. Well, not together together. What am I going to do? What is he going to do? What will happen to us?"

Her speech was starting to somehow get momentum as she was talking faster and faster. She also seemed to get somewhat paler as she continued. "I may grow close to this guy here as I am apparently to be not together together with him now. And Renny may grow close to the person he gets as a partner and be not together together with him. Or her! It may be a girl! And with time they might get together together and he won't have much time for me as we won't be on the same team. We will grow estranged and see each other less and less. Then we will be older and barely remember each other and all the contact we'll have by then will be the obligatory New Year's cards you send to people in your address list you don't even know anymore..."

She was getting completely white at this point.

"Um, I don't really know what are you talking about," Jaune tried nervously. "But from what I know the teams are to be made of four people so there is still a possibility we'll end up on the same team as this Renny?"

She snapped her gaze at him suddenly regaining color and a huge smile appeared on her face.

"Then we have to find him immediately!" she yelled energetically. "We have to make sure we end up on the team together! There is no other way! Let's go!"

Then she turned on her heel and started running deeper into the forest.

"Wait!" Jaune just called in surprise, "I still don't even know your na-... ah, dammit!" He ran after her.

The girl wasn't especially fast but she kept steady pace and after few minutes of chasing her Jaune was starting to feel a bit exhausted. He had to slow down a little so he could regain some wind.

 _Where does she even think she's going? There are fifty eight other people around and this forest is huge! What does she think she can accomplish by madly running without a direction? Does she really think she can find her friend this way?_

She was almost out of his sight when she jumped over a small shrub onto what appeared to be a small shaded clearing.

 _Does she think she can just randomly come across him if she just keeps running around? I mean what are the chances?_

"Found him!" came a shout from the forest glade ahead.

* * *

The shaded clearing was a place of a recent battle – the blades of tall grass that once covered it now lied flattened to the ground, the ground itself was plowed through at some spots as if something big and heavy tried to burrow into it and then there was the slowly dissolving body of a large black and white snake lying in the middle of the place. Its white armored head with big red eyes lied motionless next to a young man dressed in a green tailcoat with black and gold trimming and white pants. He had long black hair, with a pink streak by his left eye, tied up in a ponytail and he was talking to the girl Jaune had chased here.

Well, he wasn't really talking to her as much as he was occasionally nodding to the flood of words she was trying to drown him in. He seemed to be frowning a little.

"...and that's basically what happened!" the girl said smiling but there was a hint of lingering disappointment in her voice. "I think I should have thought of a better sloth sounds for the signal. Do you think that would help?"

"I don't think it would, Nora," the man said, a small sad smile appearing on his face.

"Hey," Jaune stepped closer to the two, "you must be Renny, I'm sorry I kind of stole your girlfriend, I assure you I didn't meant to do that."

The boy glanced at him looking little embarrassed.

"Um... it's Ren... actually," he said very awkwardly, "and we... err.. are not..."

"We are not together together," the girl – Nora – said nervously, "we were just together for a long time."

"O...K," Jaune said slowly and sighed, "you know, this is really awkward."

"Yeah," she agreed. Ren just nodded after a moment.

They stood there silently for a long while trying to find what to say next.

"Maybe I should introduce you two," Nora seemed to get an idea.

She pointed at the green boy: "This is Lie Ren, my friend, and this is..." then she pointed at Jaune and suddenly went silent with a look of horror appearing on her face.

Before he could use the pause to tell them his name she started apologizing, "Oh, I am so sorry! I don't even know your name! And I didn't tell you mine!"

"It's Nora, right?" Jaune asked, "it's how Ren addressed you."

He didn't want to follow up the "Renny" debacle as the situation felt really awkward as it was.

"Yes, I am Nora Valkyrie," she said proudly.

"And I am Jaune Arc," Jaune smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Jaune," Nora gave him a hand to shake and he took it. "Let's get along!"

"Yeah," he nodded. She had really strong grip.

* * *

"Now!" Nora Valkyrie was resolutely striding through the forest and the two boys lagged behind her. "We have to find Renny a good partner and then we have to find a way to make sure we'll be on the same team. Are you sure there are to be four people on each team, Jaune?"

"Yeah, pretty sure," Jaune nodded scanning the surrounding trees and bushes for potential Grimm ambush. "At least that's what my dual-wielding teacher told me."

Speaking of Master Garnet he really should call her in the evening and let her know how his first days at Beacon went. And also apologize for his father's behavior.

"Great! Then we just have to decide who will we find for Ren to be paired with!" the ginger haired girl exclaimed.

"Um, I don't think that's how it works," Jaune hesitated, "we can't really decide who the next person we meet would be."

"Then if it is someone I won't like we'll cover Renny's eyes!" she said bluntly.

Jaune looked at the boy next to him who just sighed and put his head into his palms.

"Who would be the best one for Ren?" Nora said to herself as she continued striding. "It has to be someone strong, cool and nice. But I don't really know anyone here... Except for the girl from the cereal boxes! That's it, we'll pair Ren with Pyrrha Nikos!"

"Is she always like this?" Jaune asked Ren solemnly and sighed when he received an affirmative nod.

"Look, Nora," he started cautiously, "there are fifty seven other people in this forest. Most of them have probably already paired up with someone. It is entirely possible she already has a partner."

She turned to him looking defiant, "But there is still a chance she doesn't, right!?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't bet on it. I mean, it is as small a chance as that she suddenly walks out of that bush over there," he exaggerated with a laugh and gestured to some random greenery.

So, of course, a second later Pyrrha Nikos – the champion of Mistral and the face of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes – walked out from the bush he was pointing at.

 _Seriously!?_

The shocked silence filled the forest around them.

* * *

"You think this is it?" Jaune asked a few minutes later after they finished their introductions and Nora, with him correcting some details – seriously there was only one dead snake on the clearing they found Ren on, not five – explained their situation to Pyrrha. The red-haired champion in turn told them she heard their voices when she was looking for a partner and decided to investigate. She didn't seem to be against the idea of at least trying to form a team so Nora and Ren wouldn't have to split.

They were standing in front of an entrance to a cave. It was big enough for a person to enter and from outside they could see the passage it opened to was growing more spacious inside.

"I don't think so," Pyrrha answered looking little skeptic. "Headmaster said we should look for an abandoned temple. This looks more like an animal burrow."

Ren nodded to her reasoning and Jaune had to agree: "Yeah, it probably isn't it."

"Well, we won't know unless we check it out!" Nora declared with a beaming smile and purposefully walked into the dark cave.

"Nora, wait!" Jaune called after her.

"It's dark in here, someone bring in a light!" came from inside.

The three remaining teenagers exchanged glances. Ren sighed again, took out his Scroll and turned on some light emitting application as the screen of the scroll turned bright white and walked in to join his friend.

Pyrrha looked at Jaune as if checking for another confirmation. She had green eyes, Jaune noticed. Before, when he saw her talking with Weiss Schnee, he didn't really have a chance to appraise the girl. She seemed different from the other girls he'd met so far – beautiful, strong and confident. Not that the others didn't have those qualities. They had all of them but in Pyrrha's case they seemed to be somewhat more pronounced.

While Weiss Schnee was beautiful, it was a fragile beauty of an intricate glass statue. Pyrrha's beauty was more like an impressive marble sculpture – standing in her bronze-gold armor made of corset-like leather breastplate over her firm torso, pair of cuisses, greaves and high-heeled leather boots on her long legs, a bronze gorget on her neck and a bracer on her left arm. She even sported a circlet on her head adding to the aura of innate nobility. Her long red ponytail and the red cloth she wore over her brown miniskirt somewhat punctuated this statuesque beauty.

The strength and confidence she radiated was similar to the way Yang carried herself. But while the blonde seemed to be expressing her power as if in an act of defiance against anyone who would dare to doubt her, Pyrrha seemed to be the exact opposite. As if her power was meant for anyone who looked at her – inspirational.

"We may as well go in too," he shrugged to her unsaid question, "those two are our partners after all."

She nodded and smiled, tightening the grip on her short sword-javelin-rifle hybrid... _Miló_... but she didn't take off her dipylon shield... _Akoúo̱_... from her back.

Jaune had analyzed the pair of her weapons back when she appeared in front of them in the forest. He would be lying if he said he was not planning to persuade her to lent him those two masterpieces for studying purposes if she actually ended up on the same team as him.

They entered the cave few steps behind their partners and squinted into the darkness. The glow from Ren's Scroll gave hardly enough light for them to see more than an arms length in front. The corridor was getting wider the further they got from the entrance.

"I see some kind of light!" Nora said excitedly.

There was indeed a light source in front of them. It reminded Jaune of something but it wasn't until they got closer that he could tell what it was.

His heart almost stopped as he took in the shape of a stinger of the first Grimm type he ever faced. Except this one was much bigger.

 _SHIT!_

"What do you thi-" his new partner started asking even as he started running toward them shouting "Get back! Now!"

The pair turned at him surprised by the urgency in his voice and the stinger suddenly shot further into the dark while the red eyes and markings on the Death Stalker's armor began to glow with red light.

Jaune jumped in front of Nora and Ren and the blue light flickered as he forged Crocea Mors' shield just in time to take in the impact when the stinger moved back to pierce them all. The force of its attack was breathtaking and Jaune felt himself lifted from the ground and hurled back to the entrance, his back smashing into the pair behind him taking them down with him.

In a more open cave they might have used their training to land on their feet but with a cramped space at the entrance they had no other choice than to end up on a pile with Jaune on top and poor Ren at the bottom. Startled Pyrrha was standing by, switching her gaze between them and the outline of the giant scorpion in the darkness. It started moving towards them.

"Run! Out of the cave!" Jaune shouted getting back on his feet and helping Nora and Ren to do the same. The rest of the group didn't need more encouragement and the four aspiring Hunters hastily fled from the dark cave.

* * *

They had but a second to get ready – Jaune taking the shield into his left hand, forging Crocea Mors into the other and dispersing the blades he wore on his back so they wouldn't weight him down, Nora aiming her cannon at the cave entrance and Pyrrha raising her own shield and Miló in its sword form. Ren pocketed the Scroll he was somehow still holding and a moment later two green pistols with sickle-like blades protruding downwards from the barrel appeared in his hands.

 _Nice! I might be able to use this!_ Jaune thought as he analyzed the pair... _StormFlower_... but this was not the time to be gushing over cool weapons as proven by the humongous Grimm-scorpion that just erupted from the small cave entrance plowing through the dirt as if it almost wasn't there.

"What now!?" Pyrrha exclaimed, her eyes following the creature as it looked around to check the surrounding area.

Now that they could see it in the broad daylight it was even bigger than he expected – the main body was long, bulky and covered in heavy bone-like armoring with red markings; and above it the long also armored tail that could easily be eight meters long. It had a pair of large pincers, two mandibles as thick as Jaune's body and a set of ten glowing red eyes. Its eight legs, along with the underbelly, were the only parts of the creature's body that were not armored but they were strong and moved fast enough to present a danger by themselves even without the tail's large stinger hovering above them ready to attack anyone who would dare to come close.

 _What can we do?_ They could try to run but it was fast and being a Grimm it just wouldn't give up the chase until it killed them. The Grimm were like that. It was so big it could probably ignore most of the trees in the forest as it would just run through them adding to the danger if they had to engage it there. So there really was no other option.

"We fight!" he declared raising his shield.

"Yeah! Let's break it!" his partner nodded with a wide smile and pressed the trigger of her weapon.

 _Ah, so it is a grenade launcher,_ Jaune thought as the pink explosions appeared all over the monster's body. Though it seemed only to enrage the creature as it started running at them screeching in anger.

Sounds of gunshots filled the area as Ren began shooting his pistols at the scorpion's eyes but it didn't seem to slow it down or have much effect as the large Grimm brought his pincers in front to shield against the shots. Then it was upon them.

"Let's force its arms open!" Jaune shouted charging to the left of the creature using his shield to press against the giant pincer, "so Ren and Nora can take out the eyes!"

Pyrrha seemed to follow his example using her own shield on the second pincer.

He felt his Aura depleting with each hit he took into his shield but they were able to keep the pincers open long enough for the other two to make their attack.

It wasn't Ren though who used the opening. A shadow moved on the edge of Jaune's vision as Nora brought a large hammer down at the Grimm-scorpions front. The creature heaved under the heavy attack even taking step back.

"Nora!" Ren cried a warning, his shots ricocheting from the Death Stalker's tail that moved to pierce his unprotected friend. Nora just pulled the trigger again and the explosion erupted where her hammer was touching the monster's armor with the counter force sending her flying back dodging the oncoming stinger. She squealed in joy as she soared through the air.

Sadly her attack didn't seem to leave even a scratch on the hard bony plating of the monster's carapace.

"This doesn't work, let's try the legs!" Jaune ducked under the pincer sliding his shield along its bottom and slashed his sword at the closest black limb. It penetrated the skin but didn't follow very deep as the creature's legs had to be strong enough to support the weight of the big armored body.

"Look out!" he heard Nora's voice, left the sword stuck in the Grimm's leg and lifted his shield with both hands to guard against the back of the pincer-arm that moved at him from the side. He felt his feet plow through the ground as the attack pushed him backwards. Jaune used the momentum to get clear of the monster and checked the situation.

Pyrrha was on the other side trying to slash at the right set of legs, unfortunately the slashes of her sword seemed to have as much effect as his failed attack. Ren was running around trying distract the creature but his guns were really not suited for an opponent like this. And Nora was jumping back and forth in front of the Grimm slamming her hammer at the giant pincers apparently trying to crash the armor – she might be eventually able to do it were it not for the tail and stinger preventing her from keeping her stance.

 _This is useless! We can't do anything with that tail around!_

He looked at the armored appendage. Neither of them had a weapon large or sturdy enough to cut it off and with the way it moved he doubted it would be easy even if the armor wasn't there. Maybe if they could make it weaker somehow...

 _That's it!_ It was a risky plan but it could work.

"Ren, Pyrrha! Keep it busy!" he called out as he started running around the monster to get behind it. "Nora, follow me, I have an idea!"

He checked to see Pyrrha relieving Nora taking Grimm's attacks in with her shield and trying to use the moments between them to stab at the scorpion's numerous eyes with her weapon in the javelin form.

Jaune got behind their giant foe and dispersed his shield and opened a compartment on his utility belt to take out two dust crystals – one light green and other deep blue. He forged a kusarigama into the hand he held the crystals in and with another blue ripple the chained weapon appeared. This time it looked as if made of ice, the mist forming around it. Jaune felt its cold against his fingers even through the gloves he wore.

"What do we do?" Nora asked with an excited smile when she stopped next to him.

"You'll see," he answered her spinning the chain above his head, "keep clear of me in the case I fuck up." She jumped a little further away from him and he released the chain.

 _Please don't shatter, please don't shatter!_

He watched with a relief as the chain looped around the Grimm's erected tail. It didn't shatter on the impact.

"Yes!" Jaune rejoiced with satisfaction and was about to drop his end of the chain when the creature heaved and pulled. The chain groaned in tension and snapped half way between him and the monster.

 _Oh boy._

Two things happened at once. The chain that was around the Grimm's tail exploded enveloping a large part of the appendage in a thick block of ice. The same thing happened with the chain Jaune held in his left hand creating a large icicle extending from around his elbow almost and full meter in front of him pulling his arm to the ground.

Jaune grunted in pain from the sudden cold and the weight on his limb as it fell to his side.

He grit his teeth and called at Nora, "Smash it!" pointing at the frozen part of the scorpion's tale with his other hand.

"Gotcha!" she shouted gleefully and charged the creature.

Jaune glanced at his frozen arm in annoyance. The ice-based attacks were a useful asset for many Hunters. When the combination of air and water dust reacted it caused the water generated by the water dust and moisture in the atmosphere to collect and then suddenly freeze. It took a very short time, less than a tenth of a second, but for a moment the temperature in the area where the ice formed reached almost the absolute zero. If a Hunter was hit with such an attack it was, in a way, nothing serious as the Aura would prevent his body to undergo the freezing process – so the only thing Jaune had to worry about was how to get his hand from the icicle it was trapped in. It has drained a minor amount of his Aura when it formed and it was heavy and cold on touch but it didn't really represent any danger to the hand itself. If he had the time he could probably just wait until his own body warmth melted enough ice surrounding his arm that it would just slip free of the unwanted burden.

In the Grimm's case though, it was different. Grimm didn't have a soul and as such they didn't have the Aura. So when the ice formed around its tail it formed inside it as well. Which meant that when Nora's hammer hit the frozen area digging into the ice like a giant ice pick it wasn't just the surrounding ice that cracked, it was also the mass of the tail itself. When a moment later she discharged another explosion under the hammer, to dislodge it from the ice it'd penetrated sending her flying through the air above Jaune with a sing of joy, the frozen part of the creature's tail shattered into a hail of blood red splinters. The upper part of the tail separated from the main body and fell heavily to the ground.

The Grimm screeched in pain and anger. It started madly thrashing about, its large pincers slashing around and legs stomping on the ground as it turned to face Jaune. Ren and Pyrrha were forced to keep their distance lest they would be swept by the monster's erratic motions.

 _That's not good,_ Jaune thought as he took in his situation – no weapon forged, one hand stuck in a heavy block of ice and large angry monster charging at him.

Before it could reach him an explosion erupted on its head as a grenade fired by Nora hit it. The force caused the creature to dig its front into the ground as it was missing the counterweight the tail provided – which was messing with its overall balance.

It also caused the backside of the creature to raise a little more from the ground and Jaune heard another round or gunshots as Ren with Pyrrha used the chance to attack the monster's softer underbelly – Ren with his pistols and Pyrrha with Miló in the rifle form.

The Grimm was in agony, confused and angry which led to it not being able to keep focus – so instead of continuing its charge it turned back to the other pair. Ren and Pyrrha exchanged some words and started running forcing the creature to follow after them.

Jaune turned to Nora who was about to run by him and engage the Death Stalker again.

"Wait," he called and she stopped next to him, "I need to get this off."

He knelt on the ground and placed his frozen arm on the ground. "Please be gentle."

The girl gave him a toothy grin, extended the handle of her hammer-launcher again and placed its pointed backside, which was some kind of exhaust used to propel the thing and give more force to the girls attacks, against the icicle. Then she raised it just a little higher and gave the ice a quick jab. The icy block around his arm cracked and broke in half along its length.

"Thanks," Jaune smiled at her as he got his hand out. He lost his glove and had to tear away part of his sleeve as those haven't been protected by his Aura and as such ended up as a part of the icicle – but there was nothing he could do about it.

He looked at the Grimm who was at the moment turning back to them as Ren and Pyrrha reached the treeline and each of them split to one side to run around the hurt scorpion and back to him and Nora.

"Do you think you can flip it?" he asked his partner. "Or at least lift its front?"

"If you give me a boost," Nora nodded smiling broadly.

Jaune forged a shield into his hands holding it diagonally against his body in the direction of the closing Death Stalker. Nora jumped on his shield placing the face of her hammer against its surface and released another explosion launching herself into the air. The counter force almost knocked Jaune to the ground.

But he didn't have time for lying around. He forged a halberd into his free hand and charged the monster which already turned around and was chasing Ren and Pyrrha back towards him.

"Pyrrha, javelin!" he shouted as he run by the other pair. He saw her glancing at him and Nora who just reached the peak of her ascent and the Grimm behind herself, and she gave him a quick understanding nod.

Then, a second before he and the giant scorpion would collide, he heard a quick series of explosions and saw a streak of white and pink as Nora flew by – her hammer slamming into the slightly lifted area where the monster's body changed into the stump that had once been its tail.

The back of the Grimm's bottom hit the ground and its front lifted up. It didn't manage to flip but the creature's front still ended up more than three meters above the ground and that was more than enough.

Jaune stabbed the blade on the tip of his halberd deep into the now uncovered soft underside of the Grimm-scorpion and noticed Pyrrha as she did the same with her weapon. Dispersing the shield he forged another halberd instead of it and stuck it next to the first one. As the monster's body came crushing down they leapt back into safety leaving their weapons embedded inside the flesh.

The four young Hunters watched the giant Death Stalker give off a last agonized scream as it fell onto its legs forcing the long weapons deep into its own body – practically impaling itself. Then it dropped down, its legs wildly twitching and spreading to the sides, and its red glowing eyes dimmed. It was dead.

* * *

Jaune was sitting on the dead Grimm's armor plate massaging his left hand as it was still a little sore from the ice it had been stuck in. They had to wait for a few minutes until the large body would dissipate so Pyrrha could retrieve her weapon.

The said champion was sitting next to him and Jaune was trying to keep himself from glancing at her occasionally. They were alone at the moment, he was a teenage boy and she was a really beautiful girl so his mind wandered.

 _Those two should get back soon because this silence is getting awkward._

He could try to strike a conversation but he had no idea how. Should he start talking about the fight? Would that be weird? Or should he ask her about herself? Maybe about Mistral? Her take on Beacon? Weather?

 _Seriously, after all those years spent with seven sisters one would think I should know how to start a friendly chat with a pretty girl._

Fortunately a moment later Nora and Ren walked out from the – now expanded – entrance to the cave. After the fight they all concluded that if there were more Grimm inside they would come out during the fight. So the strange pair volunteered to check it out. Well, Nora did and Ren was dragged along.

"It's a dead end!" the ginger girl sang joyfully.

"Well, now we are back where we started," Jaune sighed. He jumped down from the plate and looked below it to check if he could see Miló in the slowly disappearing flesh. He did so he reached in and grabbed the shaft of the weapon. It didn't budge when he tried to pull it as it was probably also partially stuck in the ground. Jaune pressed the switch he knew would transform the weapon into its short sword state. It would be much easier to take it out that way.

"Here you go," he said and handed the weapon to its owner who gave him a polite smile.

"Thank you."

In the meantime Ren and Nora came closer to them.

"Well, I think we should continue looking for that temple," Jaune proposed, "maybe we could try to climb some large tree or something. To see if we can spot it around."

"That sounds... like a plan!" his impetuous partner exclaimed with a large smile.

"Yes, I think that could work," Pyrrha added and her quiet new partner nodded.

Nobody moved though.

"What are we waiting for then?" he asked after few silent seconds. The rest of the group looked at him confusedly.

"Shouldn't you retrieve your weapons, Jaune?" the redheaded champion asked with a raised eyebrow.

 _Oh! I guess they couldn't really pay much attention to me during the fight, what with that giant scorpion there._

Now that he thought about it – only Nora had seen him pulling a weapon out of thin air. It was dark in the cave so they didn't see him forging the shield and outside of the cave they were all watching the entrance and getting their own weapons ready. And finally during the fight they really had their own problems. They could as well think his weapons were some kind of mecha-shift hybrid.

"I don't really have any weapons," he half-lied feeling a little sheepish and nervous as he was about to finally disclose his 'secret ability' to his potential team mates. Yesterday he refused to tell Ruby for the reasons he mentioned but now that Nora was his partner and they planned to form a team with the remaining pair there was no reason to continue keeping the secret.

"I am quite certain I have seen you using several different types before and during the fight," Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. "And you have been carrying those two swords on your back."

"Yeah!" Nora chipped in. "You had two swords, an axe, a sword and shield and that chain thing."

"Kusarigama," Ren supplied. "And that halberd."

"I must say I am little curious what weapon would be able to take so many forms," Pyrrha added.

Jaune took a deep breath. "It's not really any weapon – it's my Semblance. I can make any bladed weapon I have seen," he forged Crocea Mors into his hand to punctuate a point. Pyrrha's eyes went wide and even Ren looked a little surprised. Nora just kept smiling.

Though it was her who asked: "What about that shield? That's not a bladed weapon."

"I think it is because the original is a part of the pair," he forged the corresponding shield into the other hand, pressed a switch and it collapsed into a sheath he then inserted the sword in.

"That certainly sounds like a useful ability." Pyrrha looked impressed and Jaune felt a little ping of pride.

"Wait..." Ren said with a thoughtful look. " _Any_ bladed weapon?"

 _Here we go._

Jaune dispersed Crocea Mors and forged Miló into one hand and StormFlower into the other. Pyrrha actually checked if her weapon was still in her hand.

"That is one really interesting Semblance," she only said and if Jaune wasn't expecting to see it he surely would have missed the way she forced a polite smile.

"It has some issues though," Jaune sighed and then aimed StormFlower into the air and pulled the trigger. The pistol clicked but nothing else happened. "I can't make any ammo so guns are essentially useless."

He let the pistol disappear and forged Kanshou in its place. Then he hit the black blade with Miló he was holding in the other hand. It lasted two strong hits but with the third the forgery of Pyrrha's weapon cracked and dispersed into a blue smoke.

"Also, the less I know about the original the less stable the forgery is," he finished. "So if we end up on different teams you don't have to worry – the forgeries of your weapons I can currently make are not much stronger than toys."

"And if we end up on the same team?" Ren asked sounding just a bit intrigued.

"Then I will ask you to let me help you with maintenance," Jaune answered truthfully. "That way I could learn more about your weapons and be able to replicate them better. It could come handy if we ever get into a situation when you'll need a replacement weapon or something."

Ren seemed to think about it. "That sounds sensible," he nodded.

Pyrrha didn't look much excited at the prospect.

* * *

The abandoned temple turned out to be nothing more than a ruin and to say it was still half-standing would be an overstatement. It wasn't even really a building – more than anything it looked like a big stone gazebo without a roof.

On the tiled elevated floor there was a pattern depicting either a sun or a flower – it was hard to tell as there was grass growing out of the slits and cracks. Twenty pedestals were standing around the floor's perimeter and black and gold chess pieces were standing atop most of them. The relics they were searching for.

"So which ones do we take?" Jaune asked inspecting the figures – there were places for ten pairs of each color and type, with the exception of pawns though, some were already taken.

 _That makes twenty pairs in total. So only two thirds of the participants can complete the test? Harsh._

"The same type and color?" he speculated. "Or maybe the teams are made from opposing colors?"

"I don't think so," it was Ren who answered first, "if it was like that, each pair would have two other possible pairs to form a team with. I think same color and type is the safe bet."

"Ah," Jaune felt a little stupid, "I guess that makes sense."

"So what pieces do we take?" Pyrrha asked.

"I like the crownies!" Nora sang out picking up one of the golden pieces.

"Nora," her friend sighed in embarrassment, "those are called rooks." But he picked up the other one.

"Might as well," Jaune shrugged. "Keep it safe, Nora."

He might have felt a little better if said girl wasn't currently balancing the thing on her head.

They left the temple ground and started walking in the direction of the cliff they were supposed to return back to when they suddenly heard series of explosions and noticed two people emerge running out from the treeline a few hundred meters ahead of them. One of them was dressed in yellow and occasionally turned back to discharge couple of shots from her gauntlets at their pursuer – a giant raven-like Grimm that came flying from high above the trees. The other one, clad in black, was supporting the first by firing her pistol but their shots seemed to be barely bothering the monster bird.

A moment later another two figures appeared by the treeline, this time red and white, and Jaune recognized the unmistakable shape of Crescent Rose as her owner fixed the tip of the scythe into the ground and started firing the high velocity sniper rounds at the flying menace.

"Ruby! Yang!" Jaune shouted in surprise. "They are in danger! We have to help them!" He turned back to his own group. Nora just lifted her grenade launcher and gave him an excited nod.

"I agree." Pyrrha didn't hesitate, fastening Akoúo̱on the left arm and gripping Miló in the other – readying herself for combat.

Before they could blindly charge in, Ren spoke in a slightly louder tone than he used most of their time together, "Wait! Shouldn't we make some sort of plan? Because I have no idea how to hurt that thing."

"Who needs plans when I have a hammer!?" Nora asked pompously but she didn't run ahead to attack the monster so she probably understood her friend's point.

"I agree, joining in without a plan could prove counterproductive." Pyrrha nodded considering how the shots the fighting girls fired didn't seem to significantly affect their foe.

"Hmm..." Jaune looked at the fighting foursome in the distance and the large bird flying above them. "Would that rifle of yours do any damage?" he tried.

"Not any bigger than their guns do," she shook her head in negative, "certainly less then that small girl does."

"Same goes for Nora's grenades," Ren said before he could ask.

"Okay. I think we only need to help them grounding it," Jaune said, gears in his head turning furiously. "Maybe... Pyrrha, would you be able to hit it with the javelin if it came flying by?"

"Yes, I am sure I would." Pyrrha nodded cocking her head. "But I don't think I would be much effective, Jaune."

Jaune gave her a toothy grin, "I think I can help with that."

* * *

The plan was fairly simple. Ren would run to the fighting team and tell them to bait the bird towards Jaune's and Pyrrha's position. When the Nevermore would be near them Pyrrha would throw a javelin Jaune would forge for her to force the monster down. And then Nora would hit it with her hammer. Nice, simple... and so many things could go wrong.

There were the small things – like the Grimm not pursuing Yang after she changed her direction straight at them and instead moving its attention to Ruby and Schnee heiress who were providing a long range support; Ruby with her sniper rifle and Weiss by creating some sort of white circles with symbols on the ground apparently giving speed boosts to the running girls. Or Pyrrha could miss which would probably cause some issues on its own. But Jaune was not afraid of those possibilities. They existed, yes, but even if they happened, it would still be possible to do something about them.

No, what was Jaune afraid of was his part of the plan.

 _And I was acting so damn confident when I came up with this plan. Great idea Jaune, let's go save some girls from danger by bringing another one into it._

If what he was planning to do failed it would not take down just him but also the red-haired girl next to him. But he really could not back down now.

He looked at Pyrrha who was wearing his remaining glove on her right hand. He insisted on that as she would have to hold the damned thing longer than him.

"Look, Pyrrha, just make sure you don-" he started nervously but she didn't let him finish.

"Yes, I will make sure I don't grab it too hard, hit myself with it or drop it on ground," she gave him a patient smile. "You already told me twice. Relax."

Jaune glanced at the red and brown dust crystals he was holding in his hand. He was carrying two crystals of each basic dust type – air, water, fire and earth – and one of the two more rare ones: lightning and gravity. He had already used all his air crystals today. The first one during his landing and the second one in the combination with the water crystal to trap the Death Stalker's tail in the ice.

Using the fire crystal would be useless by itself as the weapon made from it would only be on fire and then generate more of it when it would eventually break. The earth crystal alone would in turn make the weapon heavier which was sometimes useful but not in this situation.

As for the lightning and gravity, the lightning would hurt the wielder as much as his foe and when Jaune imagined what would the gravity dust do... he shuddered. They say there is no such thing as overkill but he was pretty sure the effect the gravity dust had in combination with forged weapons should count as such. The fire and earth were enough danger already.

"We should get ready!" Pyrrha said in a serious tone.

They had to wait for the last moment because the longer Pyrrha would have to hold the weapon before throwing it the bigger was the risk it would go off by itself.

A yellow-clad girl was almost at their position shouting, "Do your magic, Archie-boy!"

 _Let's do this. Preferably without dying._

Jaune forged Miló in the javelin form and carefully handed the weapon to Pyrrha even as he felt his Aura depleting with each second he held it in his uncovered hands.

Normally the spear was colored gold and red but this one was different. It had sharp orange and red glow of the molten steel though it was still somewhat holding the shape. Jaune could feel the heat soaring from it on his skin – it was painful even through the protective layer the Aura gave him. Even Pyrrha looked uneasy as she took the thing in her hand and prepared to throw it.

When the monster-bird saw the group in front of him it stopped in midair spreading its wings wide...

 _Lucky!_

...and Pyrrha used the moment to launch the burning javelin at the Nevermore. At the same time though the Grimm made an attack of his own – sending a barrage of countless big feathers as if they were arrows down at them.

 _Or not._

The good thing was that the javelin and flying feathers didn't hit each other. Things wouldn't end up good if they did. The bad thing was that they didn't really have time to raise their shields.

He felt an impact on his chest no sooner than he found himself suddenly flying back away from the deadly rain as Yang charged both him and Pyrrha pushing them all from the harms way.

In the sky above them the giant Nevermore shrieked in pain when the red-hot javelin hit its right wing and enveloped in a large explosion. The creature plummeted to the ground trying desperately to keep itself in air but most of the feathers on the stricken wing were gone and from the way it flailed around it seemed to be broken.

But it was far from over as the fall was not enough to kill the monster. It jerked on the ground for a short moment but then it found its footing and raised to its large feet. It noticed Nora who was charging it with her hammer raised and flung the unhurt wing at her sending out another barrage of feathers.

"Nora!" Jaune cried a warning knowing it was too late. With the way the feathers flied the ginger girl had no way to jump to safety. She tried anyway and as she did something long and black grabbed the shaft of her weapon and pulled her out of the feathers' trajectory at the last possible moment.

It was the book-girl from yesterday using a long ribbon that was tied to her weapon... _Gambol Shroud – katana/pistol with cleaver-like sheath_... to drag Jaune's partner to safety. Nora landed in the dirt and Ren who arrived a second later helped his friend on her feet.

The Nevermore spread its unhurt wing again, probably to continue its barrage on the trio, but suddenly two black circles with symbols appeared in the air on both sides of its body and an invisible force started pulling onto its wings. Weiss Schnee was standing in the field aiming her rapier... _Myrtenaster_... at the creature who shrieked in pain and confusion as it found out it couldn't move its long feathered limbs. Especially as the right wing was broken and the sudden force threatened to rip it apart.

The circles disappeared after few seconds and the Grimm sagged in relief but this gave Yang and Nora a chance to close up on the big raven. It grunted as the two girls hit its long legs, the blonde one with her fists and the ginger one with her hammer. They jumped out of the way as the bones cracked loudly and the monster fell down on its face. Their foe shrieked again, raising its head and pushing itself up on the small talons it had in the middle part of its wings.

Jaune heard a chain of shots from the distance and turned to check what had caused them. Only to see Ruby using the recoil of her weapon to propel herself at the downed Nevermore in the speed no human should be able to move at. And that was before she apparently broke the sound barrier and changed into a red bullet aimed next to the raven's head.

The monster was still shrieking when she flew by, and for a moment it seemed she might have missed. Then it suddenly went silent and the shock wave following behind the small girl tore away the entire top of its head – from the beak upwards – like if it was so much as a cap taken by the wind.

 _She must have lodged her blade right inside its beak!_ Jaune thought as he understood what had probably happened. He watched the Grimm's large body collapse onto the ground and Ruby behind it as she skillfully landed about hundred meters away, her boots sliding in the grass before she stopped and turned to look at her work. Her long red cape was flapping behind her.

"Wow," he breathed out. Even Pyrrha next to him was staring in awe.

 _You call this 'nothing special'?!_

* * *

It was already evening when the last teams finished the test in the Emerald Forest. Now they were all standing back in the Beacon's entry hall and the headmaster was announcing teams and team leaders. Jaune nodded to Russel as the boy walked by him with the rest of the newly appointed team CRDL – pronounced _Cardinal_ – he was part of. The mohawk boy looked at him and the two girls, Pyrrha and Nora, who were walking next to him, glanced at his all-man team and gave Jaune a look that clearly conveyed a frustrated: "Seriously, dude?"

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie." Ozpin called their names and they walked up on the podium to stand before him. "The four of you have retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as team JNPR," – pronounced _Juniper_ – "led by... Jaune Arc."

He didn't have time to act surprised because a strong arm wrapped around his neck as happily laughing Nora choke-hugged him with her right hand while doing the same to Ren with her left. Pyrrha was smiling at them from the other side of the row.

They walked down giving place to Ruby, Yang, Weiss and the book-girl, whose name he found out was Blake Belladonna, as the headmaster called their names. Jaune thought it was a little ironic that Ruby ended up with Weiss as her partner.

"...you will work together as team RWBY," the headmaster finished pronouncing it as _Ruby_ , "led by Ruby Rose."

And with that their time as official students on Beacon Academy for Huntsmen and Huntresses has began.

* * *

 **Interlude 1:**

Headmaster Ozpin was sitting at his table reviewing the recordings of the fights and interactions Beacon's new first years went through during their entry test. He watched as the young man he put into the leading position of team JNPR took the command of the fight with the Death Stalker, probably without realizing he did so, and then did it again before they joined the battle with the Nevermore.

He scribbled down some notes and took a sip of his coffee.

"I must admit I am little surprised you didn't make it so that the boy would end up with Winchester, Bronzewing and Lark," a female voice came from his side. "Isn't it what was always done with their family lines?"

"Yes, but I do not expect any of their parents to come whining we did not put all their children together." Ozpin sighed. "If anything, Winchester and Arc will probably appreciate it."

"I see," the blonde woman nodded knowingly.

"I believe it will be for the better." the headmaster added after a short moment, "We can do without repeating the fiasco that was the last team AWLB."

He pronounced it as _Alba_. And there was a hint of old regret in his voice.

* * *

 _(to be continued)_


End file.
